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Between 19 and 23 July the Royal Horticultural Society
Flower Show was held at Tatton Park, Cheshire – the
ancestral home of two past Provincial Grand Masters of
Cheshire – Earl Egerton of Tatton and the 3rd Lord Egerton.
With the anticipation of some 250,000 visitors to the
multitude of gardens and flower exhibits, the show was
set to be a resounding success. Nothing new in that you say,
with the exception that, in 2006, the Freemasons of Cheshire
had designed, built and exhibited a garden entitled The Spirit
of Freemasonry.
Why a garden? The idea came from attempts to
communicate with the media in new ways – in this instance
the project was to by-pass the media and go direct to our
audience – the public.
Cheshire has created a special projects group, led by
Harry Wright, whose aim is to undertake two major projects
each year to deliver the Provincial objective of:
Dispelling the myths and informing visitors of our work in
the community.
It was this small team who set out to change the way in
which the Province communicates with the public and
in doing so … be friendly, open and honest about Freemasonry –
not to attempt to increase membership directly, merely to offer
opportunities for improving the understanding of our organisation
and to ensure that visitors are left with a favourable opinion of
the Craft.
The architect and designer of the garden, Peter Kinder,
considered his brief carefully, and his description moved
many members of the Province and the 80,000 members of
the public who visited. Peter outlined the garden as follows:
The garden depicts the journey of man, from a rough stone to
perfection, whilst travelling a path of good and evil, joy and sadness,
right and wrong.
The good and evil of the world we live in is represented by
a black and white tiled path, which passes alongside an everpresent
danger of water, contrasted with verdant pasture
representing peace.
The journey carries on until the traveller reaches his final
resting place, a triangular seat symbolising the three basic principles
of the organisation, namely faith, hope and charity.
The garden’s sundial, with square and compasses – the universal
symbol of Freemasonry – depicts the passage of time, over which we
have no control.
The Cheshire Masons’ garden
designed by Peter Kinder which
depicts the journey of man
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The design of the garden, entitled
“The Spirit of Freemasonry”
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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