The Garden of Remembrance in Broomfield Park which was opened in 1929 and contains a memorial temple dedicated to those who died in the first and second world wars has been extensively restored. The Friends of Broomfield Park would like to thank the War Memorials Trust which provided a generous grant that funded the restoration work.
The work was carried out during the last 6 months of 2017 and covered the following areas:
- Repairs to the roof of the memorial temple to make it watertight.
- Relaying the paved area and steps in front of the memorial temple.
- Installation of three new stained glass windows replicating the original design
- Repairs to the cairn of stones (each stone representing a life lost in World War 1)
- Repairs to the pond and installation of a new plinth, bowl and fountain.
- A new bird bath (replicating the original design) for the empty plinth.
- Repointing and replacement of bricks in the surrounding walls of the Garden.
- Provision of hand rails for the disabled next to the steps in the Garden.
Most of the work was completed in time for the Friends’ annual Remembrance Service which was held on November 10th, led by Rev. Chrichton Limbert, vicar of Christ Church, and addressed by Bambos Chraralambous, MP for Southgate, and Cllr Doris Jiagge, the Deputy Mayor of Enfield and attended by local schools.
The Stained Glass windows
The original stained glass windows had been missing for several years and been filled in with three red metal panels. The design of the new windows was based on original photos taken from a film about Broomfield Park in the 1950s. The windows were originally designed to represent Fortitude (LHS), Sacrifice (M), and Victory (RHS). The inscription above the windows states ‘’At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them’’ ( from Laurence Binyon’s poem, ‘For the Fallen’).