St John’s Churchyard Gardens
The restoration of St John’s Churchyard Gardens, between Mare Street and Lower Clapton Road is nearing completion. Thanks to a £1.79 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Groundwork East London, as well as Council funding, the gardens are now a clean, green, safe place for residents and visitors alike.
Facilities at the site have been improved and now offer play facilities for children and their families, a walled garden, a fountain and a sensory garden. A new planting programme and full-time maintenance staff mean that the gardens are at their best all year round.
During the summer, a range of leisure and educational activities will be taking place in the gardens.
Did you know? Buried among the 300 tombs and monuments of St John’s are distinguished local residents such as Conrad Loddiges, whose family ran a world famous botanical nursery nearby; Sir Francis Beaufort, Royal Navy Hydrographer, who developed the Beaufort windscale; and Anthony, thought to be Hackney’s first African resident.
Page updated: 28 Feb 2008