Mary Cryer, an apartment Owner at Churchill’s St Athelm Lodge development in Wells, has recently published a book about her life called The Non-Stop Years: Life at Bishops House.
The book is Mary’s personal account of her time as secretary to the Bishop of Southwark, Mervyn Stockwood, who she served for 17 years. It is a fascinating account of life with the Bishop and the many famous and celebrated people that he and Mary came into contact with, including Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother, and Sir John Betjeman to name a few, as well as the late Princess Diana’s father Lord Spencer. The book mentions some of the wonderful places that Mary travelled to with the Bishop, such as the Lake of Galilee, the Dead Sea, and the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem.
It also covers her interesting and wide-ranging prior career as a clerk for the Bank of England, a secretary for the Daily Telegraph, and a secretary for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. After her time with the Bishop of Southwark she also went on to be secretary to the Bishop of Canterbury.
After such a long and varied career it’s great to see that Mary is enjoying her retirement with Churchill, but still keeping herself busy!
