Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington is a 32-acre18th Century parkland that in 1840  became a non-denominational cemetery that was part of the Magnificent Seven; a chain of cemeteries around London that would help ease the deplorable burial conditions in London's church graveyards.

What is unusual about Abney Park Cemetery is that it was the first ever non-denominational cemetery and featured the first non-denominational chapel in Europe, making it both a controversial and popular place of interest in the 19th Century when became one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries.

The park had been intended by its founders as a place of education and preservation, however, by the 1880s burial had become the main function of the park and after a court case the park was sold to a commercial cemetery company who replace much of the beautiful arboretum with standardised gardens.

The park houses many Victorian monuments including a two Cross of Service monuments and an Egyptian Revival style entrance that features sacred lotus flowers and hieroglyphics. Despite everything, some trees featured in the arboretum have survived and the cemetery is today adorned with mature trees and was named as the first statutory local nature reserve in the borough of Hackney. A range of birds, butterflies and woodland mammals thrive in the cemetery making it a beautiful place to visit.

Today Abney Park is a local nature reserve and centre for arts and stone masonry training. It also offers a school classroom and associated out-doors activities. Some parts of Abney Park are still, occasionally, buried in as a courtesy to people who once held family plots from the private cemetery company before it closed in 1978

Famous people buried at the Abney Park Cemetery include William and Catherine Booth, Joanna Vassa, Samuel Morley, Mary Hays, Eric Walrond and Thomas William Robertson in addition to many service men from Stoke Newington who died in the World Wars.

Abney Park features many fantastic echoes of the past, though some are not so welcome, one of two unexploded bombs remaining in Stoke Newington still resides in Abney Park, so keep your eyes open!

Find out more about the Abney Park Cemetery.

How to get there

The closest tube stations are a fair walk away at Manor House, Finsbury Park and Arsenal.

If travelling by bus the 73, 67, 76, 106, 243 and 276 all serve the area.