Paul Lawrence Remembered

After a pandemic delay of two years, Trinity College’s community came together on 19 May to celebrate the life of former Head Gardener Paul Lawrence, who sadly passed away in April 2020. 

Paul served as Head Gardener at Trinity from 1995 until his death in 2020. He was a dedicated colleague and friend, and will be remembered as someone who was passionate about creating beautiful spaces in college and bringing an appreciation of the natural world to Trinity and its community. He gave his time generously to mentoring younger gardeners, supporting students with an interest in gardening and the environment, and welcoming visitors into college – whether they were summer-school students from the USA, visitors to the National Garden Scheme Open Days, or school groups in college as part of Trinity’s outreach work. 

Paul’s family joined a large number of current and former colleagues, college members and friends who gathered to remember and celebrate Paul’s life and service to Trinity. In memory of Paul the college commissioned a specially-designed wooden bench which now sits in the wilderness meadow outside the new Levine Building, and planted a cherry tree outside the building which will grow and become a prominent and colourful feature in the gardens Paul was so proud of. The tree itself was one Paul ordered as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project in 2019 – an initiative as part of the Japan-UK Season of Culture, which saw 5,000 ornamental cherry trees planted in parks, schools and public spaces across the UK as a gift from the people of Japan; thanks to Paul’s efforts Trinity is the only site in Oxford to feature one of the Sakura cherry trees.

The college thanks everyone who was able to join us in celebrating Paul’s life and legacy at Trinity; we hope those that could not be there will take a moment to view again the celebration of thanksgiving for his life that the college put together during lockdown.