Abney Park is one of London’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries, founded in 1840 on a site formed from the estates of Fleetwood House and Abney House, the latter of which had been the home of renowned non-conformist and hymn writer Isaac Watts. This association quickly made Abney the foremost burial ground for Dissenters –It was founded on these principles, with a non-denominational chapel at its core, and was open to all, regardless of religious conviction.
The architect was William Hosking FSA (1800 – 1861), a professor in architecture & civil engineering, and the first professor of architecture at Kings College. Hosking carefully planned the chapel to reflect a lack of bias towards any one Christian sect and the cruciform plan adopted the equal arms of the Greek cross, giving perceptual strength to the concept of equality before God.
Uniquely in London, Abney was also originally laid out as an arboretum, with 2,500 varieties of plants. An alphabetical planting of tree species was set out around the perimeter along with collections of oaks, thorns, pine and others by George Loddiges of Hackney, the renowned horticulturalist.
There are over 200,000 people laid to rest in Abney Park Cemetery, from world-famous names such as William Booth to relatively unsung heroes, such as Betsi Cadwaladr who, aged over 60, worked as a nurse alongside Florence Nightingale in the Crimea War
In the 1970s after the cemetery company went into administration, Abney fell into disrepair and was abandoned, allowing a uniquely wild atmosphere to develop at the site. The London Borough of Hackney took over ownership of the site in the 80s and started to manage it in partnership with the Abney Park Trust as lessee.
It was decided to maintain and manage this new and unique urban wilderness and today management aims to balance the needs of Abney’s wildlife with the requirements of the historic landscape and structures as well as the Park’s memorial role..
Meeting Place: Stoke Newington High Street entrance to cemetery.
Image: The gates to Abney Park Cemetery, By Tarquin Binary – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=357569