Armistice at The Lost Gardens.
- 7th Nov 2018
The Lost Gardens of Heligan will once again open its gates on behalf of The Royal British Legion this Remembrance Sunday. This day of Remembrance will enable visitors and gardeners alike to remember the fallen and help raise vital funds for serving and ex-service community and their families.
Remembrance Sunday has always held a special place in the hearts of those at Heligan as they continue to remember the outdoor staff of 100 years ago. Some of these brave men enlisted to defend our country and sadly, some never returned. This Remembrance Sunday is all the more poignant, as we mark the end of the centenary period and Heligan’s Lost Gardeners.
In April 1914 there were 23 men recorded weekly in the Heligan Estate Labour Books. Two weeks after war was declared, this number was down to 16. By 1917 there were only eight still working at Heligan.
As the clock strikes 11 on Remembrance Sunday, visitors are invited to join Heligan staff in the Melon Yard to observe a two-minute silence. Preparations will involve local schools as well as the Heligan team and the ceremony will include a dove release and live musical performance.
At 11.30am join us for the opening of a brand-new art exhibition ‘In Their Name: Don’t Come Here to Sleep or to Slumber’ by South African artist Lize Krüger, especially commissioned to commemorate ‘The Lost Ones’, ‘The Forgotten Ones’ and ‘Heligan’.
To close our four-year-long programme of Arts events commemorating The Gardeners of Heligan House and their service during World War 1. ‘In Their Name’ will reach a moving and visually stunning finale as Heligan unveils a trio of exquisite art works especially commissioned. These unique pieces will be displayed at the heart of The Gardens first discovered by Tim Smit and John Nelson back in 1990.
Although no garden admission charges are made on this special day, visitors are encouraged to make a minimum £2 per person donation to the Royal British Legion.
Timetable of Events
11am - Please join us in the Melon Yard to pay tribute to the Fallen.
11.30am- Public opening of exhibition ‘In Their Name: Don’t Come Here to Sleep or to Slumber by Lize Krüger.
From Midday – Roast lunch served in the Heligan Kitchen.
2.30pm- Tree Planting ceremony on West Lawn our field of Remembrance: one of 13 new English Oaks that will be planted across the Heligan Estate in memory of the Heligan men who served in WW1.
Danny Boyle’s Armistice Day Commission in Cornwall and Devon, Pages of the Sea.
Marking 100 years since Armistice
On 11 November 2018, communities will gather on beaches across the UK to say thank you and goodbye. Film-maker Danny Boyle invites you to join him in marking 100 years since Armistice and the end of the First World War. Pages of the Sea is a unique moment to say goodbye, together, to the millions of men and women who left their shores during the war, many never to return.
The Eden Project is to lead commemorative events with our support, at Porthmeor Beach in St. Ives, East Looe Beach, Perranporth Beach and Saunton Sands in Devon to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War.
You’re invited to assemble at low tide, from noon, for an informal nationwide gesture of remembrance. Over the course of several hours, a portrait of an individual from the First World War will emerge from the sand. And then, as the tide rises, watch as it’s washed away as we take a moment to say a collective goodbye.
You'll be able to see the giant portrait take shape in the sand, created by a small team of local volunteers and artists, before it is washed away and hear a specially commissioned Poem by Carol Ann Duffy read out loud.
Each of the beaches taking part will commemorate a different WW1 casualty:
Porthmeor, Cornwall- Captain Edward ‘Teddy’ Hain
East Looe, Cornwall- Captain Kenneth Walton Grigson
Perranporth, Cornwall- Archie Jewell
Saunton Sands, Devon- Captain Ralph George Griffiths Cumine-Robson
Porthcurno, Cornwall- Lieutenant Richard Charles Graves- Sawle.
To get involved and find out more head to PagesoftheSea.org.uk
Who's behind Pages of the Sea
Commissioned by 14-18 NOW, in partnership with the National Trust, Activate Performing Arts, Creative Foundation, Eden Project, National Theatre Scotland, Nerve Centre, Sunderland Culture & Taliesin in association with Aberystwyth Arts Centre, The Grand Theatre of Lemmings, Magna Vitae, MOSTYN, SeaChange Arts, Swansea Council, Swansea University, Theatre Orchard and Visit Blackpool.
Sand portraits designed by Sand in your Eye.
Supported by The National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England and Big Lottery Fund, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
With additional support from Backstage Trust, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) and National Rail.
