HOLY TRINITY CHURCH.
Holy Trinity Church was the second Anglican church built in town way back in the early years of the 18th century when Sir James Lowther controlled the destiny of the Whitehaven estates. Sadly , although for many years I lived only yards away from the building it was one , just like that of St Nicholas , which I never entered. Seen from out home in Roper Street it always looked a grim and dreary church. It's grounds, surrounded by a fairly large wall inside which tall trees added to its grim appearance, were guarded by wrought iron gates often attended by a gatekeeper .With the challenge of getting inside the gates unnoticed being uppermost in our minds at that time little did I realise it's history and associations with some of the town's best known personalities. Names like Spedding , Lowther, Alsop, Read and Brocklebank meant nothing to us youngsters then.
The church was demolished in 1949 on the grounds that it was unsafe. The coal workings deep under the town had claimed another victim. Several items were preserved and can still be seen in either St James's or St Nicholas's churches while the gravestones , of interest and importance to those who look back over the town's story , were partly destroyed or laid out around the grounds of the church grounds. Some of these are still legible and reveal valuable snippets about times past in Whitehaven. One gravestone marks the burial place of Sir James Lowther himself who died in 1755 . When he passed away , he was buried in the church and a wrought iron screen guarded his tomb. When demolition was ordered he was re interred and today ,if you scramble through the brush , you can see the gravestone at the back wall.
The screen itself was preserved and stands today at the Duke Street entrance to the grounds of St Nicholas Church . When demolition was completed , the grounds were laid out as a garden of rest where it was hoped that it " would give pleasure and relaxation to many of the townspeople , and particularly to old people." Eventually in October of 1951 at a civic ceremony attended by many people who crowded into the grounds to surround a teak cross erected on the site of the altar, Canon Croft dedicated the cross which still stands there today.
Since that day the borough gardeners have kept the grounds well maintained and the flower beds are always a delight to the eye and on a good Summer's day it is truly a "garden of rest " . In 2000 another feature was added to the grounds when a Labyrinth was laid out before the teak cross. The striking ,circular pathway of slate and granite is regarded by many as a " means of walking prayer, meditation and contemplation" and certainly adds to the beauty of the gardens.
This year the expertise of the borough gardeners has been no less magnificent than in previous times and Holy Trinity Church Gardens have played an increased role in their bid to secure yet another title in the Cumbria in Bloom competition. Wicker work and the sea appear to have been the theme as these shots indicate.
Congratulations to the borough gardeners on yet another magnificent effort
which beautifies our town.