THE Priory in Christchurch was floodlit this week in a special commemoration for a family with close links to the church – and to show support for Ukraine.
Thursday, March 3, 2022, would have been Irene Tristram’s 100th birthday.
Irene, known as Rene by family and friends, was the wife of long-term Priory organist Geoffrey Tristram.
In 2017, the iconic church building was floodlit on what would have been Geoffrey’s 100th birthday.
This week the Priory team accepted a request by daughter Carolyn, son Canon Michael, his wife Pat, and the wider family for it to be lit up on Thursday evening in a similar commemoration.
Given the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the family supported the church's suggestion of the Priory being lit in the yellow and blue colours of the Ukrainian flag.
Rene and Geoffrey lived in Church Hatch near the Priory for decades, where they welcomed hundreds of students from around the world, who came to the UK to learn English.
Carolyn told the Daily Echo she could recall her parents taking in a student and their family, who knocked on the door one day with her husband holding a young child in her arms.
They only had one suitcase and were seeking refuge from the horrors of what was happening in Iran.
Carolyn said her mother, who died in October 1994, would have fully supported lighting the Priory in a show of solidarity with Ukraine.
Paying tribute to Rene, Carolyn, who works as a teaching assistant at Twynham School, said: “She was a very strong lady and would do everything to help someone. She kept everything running at Church Hatch to allow dad to pursue all the different hats that he wore."
In the early 1970s, Rene was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but that did not stop her from carrying on with her very busy life.
“The kitchen was always the heart of the house," added Carolyn.
"It was always a lovely home for anyone and everyone who spent time there.
“Living with a genius and a perfectionist was not an easy task.”
On floodlighting the Priory, Carolyn said: ”The Priory is such a magnificent building, which has been at the centre of our family for many years.
“It is very moving for this commemoration to take place alongside the message for Ukraine, which Rene would have fully supported.”
A biography on Geoffrey's life, including his 31 years as organist and choirmaster of the Priory from 1948 up to his death in 1979, is due to be released in August, with a recital planned at the Priory to mark the launch.
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