Friday 21st November 2014 marked the formal opening of the new
gardens at Canon’s Close by Rt W Bro John Prizeman. John is the president of the Mark Benevolent fund, in London, and we were proud to give him a conducted tour of the site in order to show him where some of the money raised by the East Lancashire Mark Masons has been spent. Not wishing to miss an opportunity, we asked him to officially open the new gardens and switch on the Christmas lights.
The four original gardens were planted by Thomas Sharples Barlow when he laid down the tennis courts around 1928 but they had become overgrown with old trees and rhododendrons.
Last summer we decided to clear out all the old trees and tree stumps, some 17, and replant all four of the gardens after having first replaced the old soil with 50 tons of new. Some of the plants and all the trees have been donated saving a considerable cost and the overall look of the site has been greatly improved.
Our thanks go to Rt W Bro Prizeman for taking the time to visit our wonderful site and to formally open our new gardens.
Canon’s Close is on the site of Thomas Sharples Barlow’s old house, gardens and tennis courts. TSB generously donated all his land to the ELMBF and now 25 properties have been built on and around the original gardens and lily pond, in a beautiful tranquil setting.
All the properties are occupied by Mark and Craft Masons and occasionally become available for rent. Any Brother or Brother’s widow is eligible to apply and applicants are offered properties in order of application dates. For further information and application form please contact our secretary Ray Wilkinson on 01244 696085 or e-mail rgw@ntlworld.com
The picture above shows R.W. Bro John Prizeman cutting the tape together with our PGM R.W. Bro Keith Schofield.
of the ELMBF Committee and their partners.
Afterwards, all shared a buffet lunch provided by the house committee.
George Wm Davis 23rd November 2014
This wonderful environment created for our aged Mark Masons and which is most generously supported by the East Lanc’s Mark Brethren, is a tribute to the teamwork delivered freely by the House Committee and led in spectacular fashion by VWBro J.J.Tiler, on behalf of us all, is truly a singularly unique development we should all be very proud to support.
Although Canons Close is currently ‘in the frame’, let us not forget that Priors Close is a Mirror Image.
Just in case you are wondering where some of your ELMBF donations go to.