When LLH first opened, the garden consisted of concrete patio surrounded by a few shrubs. It was in 1990 that the award-winning garden was first created by volunteers, led by the Garden Coordinator Gary Eisenhauer. When you enter the garden, at the building’s centre, there is a ceramic plaque that reads: ‘IN HONOUR / OF THOSE WHO DIED / FROM HIV/AIDS / THOSE WHO SURVIVED / AND THOSE WHO CARED FOR THEM. This plaque was put up by Gary and volunteers who created the garden and continued to maintain it, marking the beginning of a space that provides a place of quiet contemplation, joint endeavour and potential conviviality for those who used the facilities over the years and those who cared for them. Crucially too, it is a memorial garden, a place where numerous people’s remains were left. In that sense, every patch of the ground holds to the memory of those the plaque lists first.

The garden was nurtured by Gary Eisenhauer and volunteers throughout years of change and transition for LLH, becoming the highlight of the centre and the organisation and remaining so. It has gained significant celebrity, particularly Royal traction, with visits from Princess Margaret, Princess Diana, and Prince Edward. It remained when LLH merged with the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) in 2000, and it remains now after the centre was closed by THT and taken over by the Museum of Brands.

The archive of the garden, which mostly comes from Gary Eisenhauer, captures how the garden was maintained and transformed, and what it meant to everyone it touched.

Material about London Lighthouse generally can be found in the Terrence Higgins Trust Archive.

Scope and Content:

The archive of the London Lighthouse (LLH) Garden, deposited by Gary Eisenhauer and Sam Dolbear. Contains material relating to directly to the London Lighthouse, including Guestbooks marking LLH’s 10th anniversary, and it’s closure; press cuttings, ephemera and publications relating to the LLH and specifically to the garden, including the design for the LLH AIDS memorial quilt which Gary Eisenhauer rescued from a skip; includes photographs of the garden, capturing the various planting arrangements over the years throughout different seasons, volunteers working in the garden, and various visits to the garden; includes records relating to the numerous awards won by the garden including certificates and correspondence; including material relating directly to gardening work including plant labels used in the garden, gardening papers ranging from plans, sketches, receipts and invoices; correspondence and administrative papers relating to the garden and any related work.

Please note some items in this collection are only available in digital format due to mould damage. See individual files for details.

Quantity: 

3 boxes; 9 oversized items; 87 jpgs.