A new half an acre garden of reflection created by 60 volunteers over the past eight months, has been created at Sandham Memorial Chapel in Hampshire, marking the centenary of Great Britain’s intervention in the First World War.
The chapel, completed in 1926, is the only National Trust building dedicated to the Great War which uniquely commemorates those who fell in the 'Forgotten War' in Salonika, Macedonia.
It was built by John Louis and Mary Behrend primarily to house 19 large scale canvases by the artist Stanley Spencer, to honour those who died.
The canvases which range in size from 1 metre high by 1.8 metres wide to 2 metres high by 1.8 metres wide; depict Spencer’s own wartime experiences focussing on domestic scenes from the lives of the soldiers and his work as a hospital orderly.
The new garden, designed by Hampshire landscape and garden designer Daniel Lobb and funded by a £100,000 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant, has been created to be a tranquil and special place for visitors to reflect on those who lost their lives.
Full of fruit trees, scented cottage garden style planting and a vegetable plot, the garden has been designed to complement the modernist proportions of the chapel.
The original wildflower meadow at the front of the chapel remains an integral part of the tranquil landscape.
Daniel Lobb said: "It was really important to me to quietly absorb the special atmosphere of the place and create a design that sits harmoniously next to the historic chapel, existing meadow and orchard."
For more visit the Sandham Memorial Chapel website.
Comments