Amnesty peace garden

    Amnesty peace garden at Charlton House The Amnesty Peace Garden was conceived to bring together the two major campaign themes of Stop Violence Against Women and Control Arms. Greenwich Council generously offered a walled garden at the side of Charlton House, a splendid Jacobean mansion, and the Peace Garden was launched in the summer of 2006, created as a place of tranquil retreat.

    The hundreds of plants featured in the garden were donated by the Women's Action network following a fundraising appeal. The garden was designed by Andrew Fisher-Tomlin on the theme of harmony, using cool, soft and reflective colours. 

    'Portage', the sculpture by Margaret Higginson at the centre of the garden, represents the strength and spirit of women worldwide who, throughout history, have balanced a variety of roles. The statue is of a woman carrying a boat above her head. Margaret has travelled this way in Canada from lake to lake as indigenous people do. The garden also features a Japanese Peace Pole donated by Keiko Ito from Tokyo. 

    Amnesty Peace Garden opening © Anne O'Connell

    Comedienne Jo Brand was joined at the launch (from left to right in the picture) by Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty in the UK; Councillor Harpinder Singh, Mayor of Greenwich; Andrew Fisher-Tomlin, and Margaret Higginson.

    How to find the Amnesty Peace Garden

     

     

    " Anyone who wants to escape the mean streets of Greenwich for a few tranquil minutes, should definitely pop into this beautiful Amnesty garden."

           Jo Brand, speaking at the launch of the Amnesty Peace Garden

     International Women's Day at Charlton House

    Amnesty Peace Garden sculpture © Anne O'Connell

    The Women's Action network (WAN)'s Committee helped Charlton House celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2007. A varied programme included a showing of Zarghona Rassa's documentary about women in Afghanistan, a reading of Ariel Dorfman's play Voices From Beyond the Dark, comedy and dance.

    We also had the pleasure of welcoming several members of the Ethiopian Women's Association. The afternoon ended with the ceremonial lighting of candles in jars, every fourth one red to represent that in the UK every fourth woman has experienced domestic violence, placed around the statue in the Amnesty Peace Garden. 

    Horn Fayre

    The Women's Action Network (WAN) held a picnic at Charlton House on 22 June 2008, as part of the annual Horn Fayre held in the grounds. There was a stall where visitors signed petitions for Amnesty causes. Entertainment was provided by Palestinian singer Reem Kelani whose singing delighted the crowd as WAN volunteers handed out SVAW balloons to children. 

    New sundial in the peace garden

    These pictures show part of the launch of the new sundial in the Amnesty Peace Garden during Charlton House Horn Fayre on Sunday, 27 June 2010. Heather Harvey, manager of the Stop Violence Against Women Campaign was joined by Sean Daly (left) , Football Development Manager at Charlton Athletic FC Community Trust and the Mayor of Greenwich, Councillor Barbara Barwick (right). Far right is Mary Wright, Chair of the Women's Action Network.

    In her speech, Heather outlined the significance of the occasion, which marked the end of the SVAW Campaign and the start of a new phase of Amnesty's work for women, which will continue to deal with gender violence while also tackling other forms of discrimination, linked with economic dependence. She ended by quoting the words engraved on the sundial: Women Hold Up Half the Sky.