05 May 2025
"I was visiting Western Village Primary before Easter 2023. We were talking about the workshops we could do together. I suggested we could partner and build a peace garden at Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum. Mr. Cuts, the head teacher, immediately loved the idea."
Elizabeth Morris, Learning Officer at Englesea Brook.What started as a spontaneous suggestion soon became a reality in the Chester and Stoke-on-Trent Methodist District. Elizabeth worked closely with the primary school, conducting assemblies focused on peace, and together with John Cooper from The Fellowship of Reconciliation, delivered peace and drama workshops. The project enlisted the help of a “junk artist” who created a beautiful Peace Tree adorned with plaques representing children's ideas of peace – including pizza, ice cream and music.
The transformation of the space has been remarkable. "It was just a slope," says Elizabeth. "It was a patch of land with no purpose but we thought it was perfect and it made a beautiful kind of auditorium space."
Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum's Peace Garden resonates significantly with Methodist values.
"Methodism has peace and justice at the heart of who we are, part of our DNA. It is part of who we are today as a justice-seeking church. We recognise that when there is conflict, people suffer – when there is war, the poorest, those on the margins, suffer the most."
Revd Helen Kirk, Chair of the Chester and Stoke-on-Trent Methodist DistrictThe garden aims to provide a sanctuary in an increasingly fractured world. "People are living with a deep sense of anxiety. They're living with a deep sense of fragmentation," Helen adds. "To have a space which is a gift – open to absolutely anybody – a gift where people can come, can be, can contemplate, can pray or not pray, and just have a sense of wellbeing within."
Ruth Hilton, Project Director at Englesea Brook, explains the garden's connection to Methodist heritage, "Primitive Methodism was known as the 'Peace Church'. Inspired by their faith and what they read in their bibles, the ‘Prims’ became very involved in the politics of the day, opposing the Boer War and just days before the outbreak of WWI, the president spoke passionately opposing war."
The garden represents a continuation of this peace tradition, despite historical complexities.
"If you take a look in the museum at our Peace exhibition, you'll read about his shocking U-turn only days after, as war was declared. Many Methodists, both Prims and Wesleyans, were conscientious objectors in the war and faced many hardships as a result."
Ruth Hilton, Project Director at Englesea Brook.The landscaper who brought the vision to life has already found peace in the garden, frequently stopping by for a cup of tea after work. Elizabeth hopes the garden will be "a real legacy for generations to come, for the community and visitors."
As Britain commemorates the 80th anniversary of VE Day this week, the Peace Garden stands as a poignant reminder of both the devastating cost of conflict and the enduring hope for peace. The timing of the garden's opening alongside these national celebrations offers a moment to reflect on the complex relationship between commemorating military victory whilst recommitting to the pursuit of peace – a tension that many Methodists throughout history have navigated with conviction. The garden invites visitors to consider how the lessons of the past can inform our collective responsibility to foster peace in our communities and beyond, honouring those who suffered in war by working towards a more peaceful future.
