Exhibitors
Back-to-back Gardens
The Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire Freemasons
The Spirit of Freemasonry
Designer: Peter Kinder
Sponsor: The Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire Freemasons
Contractor: Beech Landscape (Developments)
Click on the image to view a hi-res version
Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest fraternal societies. Governed by the United Grand Lodge of England, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire is the oldest province in England, having existed since 1725.
The objective of the garden is to demonstrate openness. The designer Peter Kinder, himself a Freemason, describes the garden as follows: "The garden depicts the journey of man, from a rough stone to perfection, while 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 ever-present 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.