Abney House
The gateway to
ABNEY HOUSE
Which stood here 1700-1843
ISAAC WATTS
Hymn writer and poet
Stayed here 1734-1748
(82 Stoke Newington Church Street (Cemetery))
In 1690, a Mr. Gunston purchased 25 acres of land upon which a house stood. He pulled the house down and on its site erected a much larger house. Mr Gunston died in 1700 before the house was completed and the house passed to his sister Mary, wife of Sir Thomas Abney, Lord Mayor of London.
The Reverend Dr. Isaac Watts is known to have visited and despite his intention to stay a few days with the Abney family, he remained in the house for 35 years.
The mansion, which faced onto Church Street was built of red brick, watts described it as;
Solid and square it rises from below:
A noble air without a gaudy show
Reigns thro’ the model, and adorns the whole,
Manly and plain. Such was the builder’s soul.
1830’s London saw a campaign run to provide seven privately funded and developed cemeteries. This proved crucial to the fate of Abney House and its estate. In 1840 the estate became the property of the Abney Park Cemetry Company, when the occupant move to another location, the house was demolished. The gates of the house were preserved as a side entrance to the Cemetry; these were themselves ‘rescued’ from an advanced state of decay by the Borough in 1979.
Page updated: 28 Feb 2007