Memorial trees and benches

Memorials in parks and green spaces usually take the form of benches or trees, but we’ll consider other items on a case by case basis. If you’re interested in commissioning one, read our memorial policy, complete an application form and email it to parks@hackney.gov.uk.

We’re happy to accommodate most requests for memorials but please bear in mind that green spaces are enjoyed by a wide range of people – we try to manage the process to benefit everyone. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Memorial benches

We are currently only accepting requests for new benches in Clissold Park. Memorial benches are not currently available in Abney Park.

We offer 3 options for memorial benches:

installing a new memorial bench in a location where there is currently no bench
replacing an existing bench with a new memorial bench
refurbishing an existing bench, turning it into a memorial bench

We might not be able to approve every request, but we’ll do our best to offer an alternative.

Costs

Installing a new memorial bench or replacing an existing bench costs from £1,453 when installed on an existing hard surface.

Refurbishing an existing bench and turning it into a memorial bench costs from £1,012.90.

In most cases, we replace an existing bench with a memorial bench.

Costs do not include the memorial plaque. You must provide your own plaque - it cannot be more than 50mm high, 200mm wide and 5mm deep.

After you make your request

We’ll contact you to arrange a meeting at the park and discuss a location for the bench.

Once a location has been agreed, we’ll send you an invoice for payment. You can pay by bank transfer or cheque.

After you’ve paid, we’ll order and install the bench. This can take up to 12 weeks.

You’ll need to send us the memorial plaque and for installation.

We’ll email you when we’ve installed the bench.

Memorial trees

Prices for memorial trees start at £368.

The cost of planting a memorial tree varies depending on the tree’s size and species. We source all memorial trees, and plant them between November and February. We will process any applications received after 31 December in the following planting season. We cannot fit plaques to memorial trees or their tree guards.

Once we’ve received your application:

we’ll respond to your request and discuss possible options for the size, species and location of the tree – options will depend on the tree planting plan for individual parks
we’ll send you an invoice for the tree, its planting and tree guards
once you’ve paid we’ll meet you on site to confirm the location of the tree before it is ordered
we’ll plant the tree up to eight weeks after we receive your payment
we’ll notify you in writing that we’ve planted the tree

Currently, we’re not accepting applications for trees in Abney Park.

Scattering ashes

You can scatter ashes in our parks for free, but you need to get our approval for the location in advance.

First, read the memorials policy and then fill out the memorial application form telling us the park and exact spot where you want to scatter the ashes.

Read the Memorials policy (PDF 98kb).

Complete memorial application form

Parks and Green Spaces