a garden oratory

Do you remember me writing, a while back, about Mairi’s Labyrinth?

At the end of that piece, posted in June 2021, I mentioned that my next door neighbour, Mairi, was considering constructing a garden chapel. Over the eighteen months that followed, Mairi took to that task with her usual creativity and determination, developing another remarkable space at the top of her garden.

The exterior might seem, from some angles, unassuming. . . but do not be fooled . . .

It has a steeple . . .

. . . and a bell . . .

. . . and when you open the door . . .

. . . you’ll discover something extraordinary . . .

. . . a beautiful, small space for private prayer and reflection.

Mairi built the oratory, then insulated and lined the interior, before decorating it.

She painted a star-studded firmament . .

. . .engraved the skirtings with the words of the 23rd psalm . . .

added ‘stained glass’ to the windows . . .

. . and chiselled out a dedication for the floor.

This oratory is literally built upon a rock, as the boulders that had to be moved to create it were lifted from the earth by Mairi’s own hands.

St Fiacre is, among other things, the patron saint of gardeners.

Each object in the oratory has its own story.

The glass cross hanging in the window was bought at one of the craft stalls at the local Drymen Show. The small altar was a lucky eBay purchase. The panel depicting the Last Supper was made by an engraver in Ukraine.

The exposed beams in the vaulted ceiling feature their own bosses and church mice.

. . . and the stars in the firmament are the two constellations that mark the birth months of Mairi and her husband, Niall.

Mairi completed her garden oratory in December, 2022 – which was also the month in which Niall suddenly and very unexpectedly, died. A few weeks after this, Mairi’s elderly mother, Kathleen, died too. For Mairi, and for all her friends and neighbours, this beautiful space, and the many months of tireless labour its maker dedicated to completing it, have, in the light of these sad losses, taken on new meaning.

I know, that like me, you’ll hold Mairi in your thoughts, and hope that, in coming months, she’ll find comfort and solace in this wonderful contemplative space of her own creation.