Abney Park Cemetery

Abney Park restoration project

The project to conserve and develop all aspects of the park, including its built and natural heritage, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) is now complete.

We’ve brought the historic chapel back into use as a venue. A new cafe, public toilets community room and makers workshops are all open at the park’s main entrance.

There’s a new accessible entrance on Church Street, and improved signage throughout the park.

Although there have been major improvements, the valuable and much loved haven for trees, plants, and wildlife remains intact.

Abney Park Trust

Abney Park Trust is a charity based at Abney and works in partnership with us. They run walks, tours and events which celebrate the heritage of Abney Park. They also maintain private and commonwealth war graves and conduct grave searches for the public by appointment.

For more information and to sign up to its newsletter, visit Abney Park Trust. You can also email them at info@abneypark.org.

Hire Abney Park Chapel

Following extensive restoration works, Abney Park Chapel is now a unique events space for hire, suitable for up to 70 people.

Abney Park Chapel is perfect for:

• wedding and funeral ceremonies
• canape and drinks receptions
• art exhibitions
• product launches
• education classes
• team away days
• intimate screenings

The Grade II listed building has brand new:

• stained glass windows
• seating at mezzanine level
• flooring
• accessible toilet facilities
• electrics and lighting

To find out more about hiring Abney Park Chapel, visit Hackney Venues.

The Abney Park Trust run free non-event Chapel viewings on the first Sunday of each month. To book a spot, visit Abney Park Trust events.

Volunteering

For information on volunteering opportunities in Abney Park, visit Volunteering in parks and green spaces.

Abney Park Cafe and community room

Abney Park Cafe is a relaxed cafe dining space located in Abney Park. It specialises in ingredient-led and taste-focussed menus. The cafe is open for breakfast, brunch and lunch every day of the week.

There’s also an event space available to book for community or private events. For more information, visit Abney Park Cafe website. To book, email abneyparkcafe@sabelfood.co.uk.

Abney Park user group

The Abney Park user group was set up to give local users a voice. They work with Hackney Council and Abney Park Trust to protect and care for the park. Meetings are held every 3 months, and anyone is welcome to join. If you are interested in joining, email abneyusergroup@gmail.com.

Abney Unearthed

The Abney Unearthed project aims to research, map and learn about the people buried in Abney Park when the park operated as a commercial cemetery from 1840 to the late 1970s.

The volunteer based project is funded by the NLHF and will run until at least September 2024.

For more information see Abney Unearthed.

Find out if someone is buried in Abney Park

It can be very difficult to find a grave even with a plot number – the ground around the graves can be uneven and overgrown. We recommend you book an appointment with Abney Park Trust who will come with you if you are searching for a specific grave. Email info@abneypark.org to enquire about finding a grave.

If you decide to explore without our help, please bear in mind that, as well as a memorial park, Abney Park is also a nature reserve and an important site for a variety of plants and wildlife – so please take care not to damage the memorials or disturb the vegetation or habitats.

Abney Unearthed is working hard to replace as much missing information as possible by checking every grave, but there are still some gaps in the burial information:

• records for May 1970 – May 1974 and May 1978 – March 1979 are missing
• records for Jan 1935 – March 1936 are missing
• records for Jan 1903 to Jan 1904 are missing
• not all plot numbers are on the maps
• not all burials are marked or have a headstone
• common graves are often unmarked and we are unable to locate any prior to 1918

Common graves are also often unmarked on the plot maps but we do have some knowledge of their locations. Abney Unearthed has so far added around 200 common graves to the plot maps.

Activities for families and schools

We have created some resources for families and schools with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Explore the park’s nature and history through a range of activities and trails. The resources are available to download or print.

History

No longer a working cemetery, Abney Park is run as a park and is a site of metropolitan importance for biodiversity. It’s one of London’s most central woodlands and an important site for deadwood invertebrates and fungi.

The site was formed in 1840 from the estates of Fleetwood House and Abney House. Abney House had been the home of renowned non-conformist and hymn writer Isaac Watts, which led to Abney Park becoming the foremost burial ground for Dissenters – people who practised their religion outside the established church.

It was founded on these principles, with a non-denominational chapel, and was open to all, regardless of their religion – it’s the only one of the Magnificent 7 that’s not consecrated.

The cemetery was designated a local nature reserve in 1993 due to its value for people and wildlife. It’s also a metropolitan site of importance for nature conservation, meaning that it’s one of the most important sites for biodiversity in London.

It’s home to an impressive collection of trees, as it was originally laid out around 1840 as an arboretum – a labelled tree collection.

View the illustrated timeline of Abney Park’s history (PDF 12mb)

Trees

Abney Park Cemetery has around 200 old trees in it. In 1840 the site was planted as an arboretum of exotic trees by Hackney’s famous Loddiges nursery. Several rare and interesting old trees remain from this period. As the cemetery business declined in the 20th century, the woodland seeded itself and the reserve is now one of London’s most important sites for wildlife.

The concentration of old trees, excellent deadwood habitats, and the fact that the site has never been built on, make Abney Park a priceless inner London haven for invertebrates and fungi. Bats, tawny owls, sparrowhawks, wood mice and bank voles also find homes here.

The Abney Park Veteran Tree Project was created in 2009 in recognition of the importance of the old trees. The project was funded by the London Tree and Woodland Grant Scheme.

Further reading

• veteran trees leaflet by Russell Miller
• The Trees and Woodland of Abney Park Cemetery – article by Russell Miller

Wildlife

Abney Park is one of the most diverse green spaces in Hackney. It is a public park, cemetery, area of historical interest and was Hackney’s first nature reserve.

A local amateur naturalist has produced some drawings of the birds and butterflies that are present there:

• butterflies PDF (737kb)
• birds (PDF 1mb)
• wildlife (PDF 202kb)
• trees (PDF 201kb)
• veteran trees (PDF 450kb)

The ecology of Abney Park

Weather closures

During high winds or rain we may need to close Abney Park, we make the decision based on the MET Office weather warning system. Anything from a yellow warning upwards will mean we close the park. Once the warning has been lifted, we keep the park closed until we clear any hazards and pass a safety check. This may mean the park is closed whilst there is no weather danger but the priority is making it safe for its users.

Filming and photoshoots

Abney Park is a unique and atmospheric place and has provided a backdrop for films, music videos and other media. If you’d like to film in Abney Park, contact our film office.

Safety checks

The cemetery dates back to 1840 and there are a large number of memorials, some of which are very old and need to be inspected to make sure they’re safe.

As the gravestones and memorials are inspected, some may need to be cordoned off or occasionally laid flat. Families of the deceased whose graves are affected will be informed where possible. When visiting the cemetery please stay on the paths and observe the safety notices.

Respecting Abney Park

Abney Park is a nature reserve and historic parks. We ask all visitors to respect our park and keep themselves and others safe by:

• not climbing on monuments or trees
• not starting fires of barbecues
• not foraging
• keeping dogs under control and cleaning up after them
• keeping to the paths

Woodland and ecological management plan

The woodland and ecological management plan explains how we manage Abney Park Cemetery and protect it as a woodland nature reserve.

View the woodland and ecological management plan (Google Doc).

View the supporting documents:

• Appendix 1.1 2008 veteran tree survey (Google Doc)
• Appendix 1.2 2014 treeworks Paul Muir survey (Google Doc)
• Appendix 2.1 full invertebrate species list (Google Doc)
• Appendix 2.2 rare, scarce and notable invertebrate species (Google Doc)
• Appendix 3.1 flora species list 1991 to 2022 (Google Doc)
• Appendix 4.1 management matrix (PDF 60kb)