Ida McMaster, who lives in Mount Bures, has been given the honour for her services to history and archaeology.

"I'm very thrilled and honoured and have loved doing what I have done," said Mrs McMaster, who is a member of the Colchester Archaeology Group and often flew over Mount Bures taking aerial photographs.

She said: "It is a lovely feeling knowing that you are being honoured for your work."

Mount Bures, she said, had interesting features including the castle mound next to St John the Baptist Church.

"There are now wooden steps up to the top of the mound and you get a wonderful view of the area," she said.

The mound probably dates back to the Norman conquest and would have housed a timber tower.

The information and photographs she collected were put into her book, Mount Bures, Its Lands and People, which eventually led to the creation of the village's website.

She helped villager Alan Beales compile the site which can be found at www.mount-bures.co.uk

Mr Beales said he was thrilled Mrs McMaster had been honoured.

"This is wonderful news for her and the village. She has put a lot of effort into her work," he said.

Mr Beales has also congratulated her on the website, saying: "If it were not for Ida's unwavering assistance from the very start back in 2003 this site would not have been created."

 

Reproduced by kind permission of the Suffolk Free Press