Garden Appeal

The History of the Gardens

The prospect of an Anglican church on Madeira was conceived at a general meeting of British residents of Madeira in December 1809, and two plots of land were purchased for the purpose, the first on 5 November 1810 and the second on 14 February 1811. It took another 11 years for the idea to become a reality and the first service was held at the newly built church in October 1822. Sadly, there are no early pictures to tell us what the grounds and gardens looked like then: a daguerreotype picture dated 1844 is tantalisingly limited to a front view of the church showing bushy trees on either side of the entrance, but there is no further detail; and, whilst the accounts of the nineteenth century show that substantial wages were paid for the upkeep of the grounds, no report tells of the outcome.

The first photographs of the gardens date from around 1930, just after the Parsonage was built. These show neat ornamental plots of flowers bordered in stone with cobbled pathways in between, and a few well spaced trees allowing in plenty of light and air. Over the years hedges and borders have materialised, only to become overgrown, and attention to the garden has diminished as the financial burden of employing gardeners has increased. Ten years ago there were five gardeners, now there are two, and the gardens have become increasingly difficult for our reduced manpower to maintain.

The Future of the Gardens

To modernise and simplify our garden we've sought the views of Gerald Luckhurst, a specialist operating in mainland Portugal and on Madeira: his plan restores the openness of 80 years ago, and, by using sensitive and sensible design and modern technology, allow for easy maintenance. Wide lawns will be the central feature of both sides of the church; a superb new stone-faced north wall, to replace the one which crumbled in March 2008, will have a raised bed at its base, filled with plants, shrubs and climbers; a pergola will separate the north lawn from the church; a new reception area adjacent to the kitchens will cater for Sunday morning (and other) receptions; a stage will be available at the east end of the main lawn for concerts and other performances; parking will be available at the rear of the church; a contemplative area will be created in the south-west corner; the much-loved statue of Philippa will be re-positioned; Stations of the Cross will feature around the gardens and a via sacra will show the way around them; plants and trees from biblical times will reflect the religious emphasis of the garden; an irrigation system will help to minimise the gardeners' work and sympathetic lighting will enable the features of the garden to be viewed after dark. Finally, the cobbles of the courtyard and driveways, having necessarily suffered the ravages of heavy machinery moving over them for many months, will be restored - an immensely labour-intensive process.

Our Appeal

Our new garden plan is a huge project for our church: a huge challenge and hugely exciting. We could say at huge cost too: sadly there's a downside to every good idea, and our downside is 50,000 euros! We're putting up the first 20,000 euros ourselves to pay all professional fees, administration and printing costs and to get the plan off the ground, but we're inviting an external input of 30,000 euros, all of which will go towards the garden itself. Donations will be most welcome, gift-aided particularly so; donors giving 400 euros or more will be offered named sponsorship of one of the fifteen Stations of the Cross, which will be located along the via sacra. If you're local, gifts of plants would be most appropriate. If you would like more information on any of the details of the appeal, please go to meet us and send an email to one of the churchwardens.