IN PICTURES: Farewell to a loved landlady

Sunday 19 April 2020

The people of Sark adhered to social distancing guidelines while they paid their respects to one of their own on Friday as they all bid farewell to the former landlady of the Mermaid.

In pictures kindly shared with Express by the Ecumenical Minister of Sark, it is clear to see how much love was held for Dorothy Taylor who passed away last week, in her home island.

Mrs Taylor and her husband had owned the Mermaid. Their daughters Sally and Gina now run it, along with the licencee Victoria Greene, who is responsible for the day to day business of the bar. 

Mrs Taylor was clearly a very popular woman, and as well as her hospitality work she was a prolific fundraiser for the marine ambulance, collecting more than £100,000 in donations over the years for St John Ambulance. 

Sark has to abide by the lockdown rules set by Guernsey's Director of Public Health to contain the spread of covid-19.

Having passed away last week, during the lockdown, a private funeral service was arranged for Mrs Taylor. 

The funeral procession started from the Mermaid Tavern at 12:30 on Friday, before a private graveside ceremony attended only by Mrs Taylor's family.

Pictured: Dorothy Taylor died last week, before her funeral was held on Friday. 

No one in Sark, or Alderney, has yet tested positive for the virus and to ensure it stays that way the smaller islands are following the strict rules set in Guernsey, which has more than 200 patients with corona virus.

One of the rules dictates that funerals can only be attended by immediate family and social distancing must be adhered to at all times if any attendees do not live in the same house. 

While in Sark the majority of the community would usually gather for events such as funerals, on this occasion they were asked to stay away from the cemetery, but they were instead encouraged to line the island's roads. 

Pictured: People lined the streets of Sark to pay their respects to Dorothy Taylor during the lockdown. 

The Ecumenical Minsister, David Stolton, had asked that people wait outside their own homes or in others areas, socially distancing from each other, to observe the funeral procession go past, before returning to their own homes. 

Hundreds of people did so, and Mr Stolton said it had been a great "privilege to lead the funeral of Mrs Dorothy Taylor" and that he was pleased people had acted on the "special permission given for Sark's community to line the route under the current restrictions so that all could pay their respects to the legendary landlady of The Mermaid".

Mr Stolton shared pictures with Express which had been taken by Sue Daly, which were also shared on the Churches of Sark Facebook page.

Pictured top and above: All images courtesy of Sue Daly.