Fiona Campbell Hicks tells the story of a campaign to revive Islington’s ancient pilgrimage site

 

Driving in Islington one day I was suddenly overcome by a very vivid imaginative experience of the Virgin Mary’s garden. It was an enclosed garden; centred around a large tree, completely filled with flowers and nature and suffused with sunlight, peace and happiness. Suddenly aware that I needed to concentrate on the road, I looked up and saw a van in front of me with the words, ‘Signature Gardens – design it, build it, maintain it!’ The song ‘They paved paradise, put up a parking lot’ ran through my mind.