St Seraphim's Chapel Walsingham - Community Garden Developments

Walsingham W.I. visited St Seraphim's Orthodox Chapel, Little Walsingham, on Friday, March 1, to present a new garden seat to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee, for the chapel’s developing community garden.

Iris Bacon Walsingham W.I. President (front left) and Monica Smith committee member and (back left) Mary Inchbald Vice President and Rose Hannis Treasurer are pictured on the new seat in the chapel’s garden.

Iris Bacon said: “We donated new seats to the village and primary school to celebrate the Millennium and Golden Jubilee respectively. We wanted to support another project that will be of benefit to the community, so chose the garden at St Seraphim’s Chapel as the beneficiary of our seat to mark the Diamond Jubilee.”

Monica Smith (pictured below) from Walsingham W.I. also planted a Daphne to commemorate popular Little Walsingham resident, Daphne Tinsley who died last year.

The community garden is a natural space to complement the spirituality of St Seraphim’s Chapel and will provide a calming and natural reflective environment for use by pilgrims and the local community. A viewing hut has been established at the top of the garden overlooking Walsingham.

The provision of access to the garden is included in a Heritage Lottery Fun bid that will be submitted by St Seraphim’s Trust during the spring. The bid is applying for a grant to interpret and present to visitors the story of St Seraphim’s, a centre for traditional Orthodox Icon painting for more than 40 years, along with the building’s railway heritage. The chapel is located in the former Walsingham Railway Station.

Sylvia Batchelor, St Seraphim’s Trust Project Manager said: “The gift of the garden seat from Walsingham W.I. is a great boost to the development of the garden as a place for peace and calm and quiet reflection. We are steadily making progress in the garden, but would really like to recruit some regular volunteers, including a garden team leader to help speed up the process.”

For more information about St Seraphim’s Trust and the chapel see www.iconpainter.org.uk .