Legacy Matters Feb 2019
Reflections on the chapel building Some of the many legacies of the school are the beautiful facilities that grace the campus. During one January chapel service, Headmaster Lamont asked each of us to look up, look around, and take in the architectural marvel. His guidance took me down a wonderful path of memories connected to the architectural treasures at Shawnigan Lake School – our structural legacy. I hope you enjoy an abridged version of Headmaster Lamont’s reflections, and I encourage you to share your memories of the Chapel, the Main Building, the ‘Big School’ or other treasures that we often forget to embrace. I have been very fortunate in my life to have lived or studied next to beautiful churches – from my family home in a small village in southern England set next to a Saxon church built in 1050, to school and university chapels, to cathedrals and the wooden stave churches of Norway with their striking dragon sculptures. Chapel services began in the 1920s at Shawnigan. They were not held in a chapel, but in what was then known as ‘Big School’ – a room with colonial hunting trophies hanging on the walls. The foundations to the present chapel were laid just less than 100 years ago. The walls of the foundations disastrously were blown over by a storm during construction. A stained glass window (made by an art teacher) was originally installed in the south wall of the chapel and has since been relocated to the entrance to the Hobbies Building. Next time you are passing, look up at its distinctive design. The chapel was originally designed to seat 200 and, in those days, there was always a chapel choir with the choristers in the traditional robes and ruffs positioned in choir stalls.
The Shawnigan Lake School chapel today
many christenings and weddings. I believe that some staff present here this morning were married here, and some students were christened here. There is a plaque honouring alumni who gave their lives during World War II – you will remember that our Grade 10 students read out their names as part of our Remembrance Day Service last November. The plaque, a gift from a former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, was unveiled in 1948.
The chapel has been expanded on a number of occasions to support the increase in numbers of students and to incorporate a bell tower and a new organ, with the altar changing ends at one point.
Since the plaque was cast, we have learned of at least a couple more men of Shawnigan whose names were omitted. We recognize their sacrifice in the school’s museum and at our annual Remembrance Service. One day, I hope that we recognize their contribution by adding their names onto the wall in chapel to which they belong.
It has held memorial services – in 1952 for CW Lonsdale, the founder of our school, alongside funerals and memorial services for other former Headmasters, Governors, chaplains, staff and alumni – as well as
I invite visitors to the chapel to explore and discover the female staff members from the early days recognized for their contributions with plaques, discover why ‘Fearless unto Death’ is written in
Lambs and ewes graze in front of the Shawnigan Lake School chapel c. 1928
Chapel wall blown down during construction c. 1927
Chinese characters on a plaque from 1936, and discover what connects Mr. Ander Monro to the area behind the altar.
of the school. It is a place of worship, of reflection, of celebration, and of remembrance. It’s a place of community building.
One of my favourite stories, passed on by our wonderful archivist and museum curator, Ms. Rosemary Dolman, is of the time in the late 1980s when some mischievous students set up a contraption mounted in the rafters above the Headmaster’s seat in chapel. A wind-up alarm clock, set to ring during the chapel service, ingeniously triggered a mechanism to tip a bucket of water onto the Headmaster’s head. To his great credit, Doug Campbell (the Headmaster at the time), is reputed to have stood up, pointed his finger accusingly at the student congregation, and – matching the spirit of the occasion – shouted ‘That was a really good prank!’
It is a place where we all come together to reflect and to sing. There are not many schools across the world that deliver such wholehearted and passionate delivery of hymns in English, Latin, and Welsh.
It’s another good reason for Headmasters especially to cast their eyes heavenwards in order to detect mischief from above. Look at Stanty’s Garden below the chapel and facing the Quad with its memorial plaques, remember to spot the bell from HMS Broadwater that stands sentinel at the entrance. Cast a glance at the Founder’s Prayer on entry as you head for your pew. Take a moment to glance at the architecture around you, look over at the reproductions by the Italian artist Raphael, enjoy the beauty of the organ music, and steal a glance at the ceiling. Through all the changes that have taken place on campus, the chapel has always maintained a prominent and vital role as the physical and spiritual centre
Above all, the chapel connects you to all those who have come before you and who will come after you. Its only expectation of you is that you respect the place and the people who gather here as one community. Our chapel welcomes all faiths and, beyond our services, remains open for those students and staff wanting to visit, to explore, to play the piano, to pray, to reflect, or simply to lie on a pew and stare at the ceiling. Richard D A Lamont Headmaster
Hilary S. Abbott Legacy Giving habbott@shawnigan.ca (250)743-6236 Hilary S. Abbott