Abney Park Cemetery, London

Abney Park Cemetery, the 5th of London's Magnificent Seven cemeteries  that I have visited.

Abney Park is located at Stoke Newington in the borough of Hackney in north London.

There are no spectacular gravestones or mausoleum, as the cemetery's founders were purists and rejected the extravagance of some Victorian memorials. The monuments are relatively simple and there is only one mausoleum. even the chapel and catacombs are plain. Even so, some of the memorials are protected and listed for their architectural and historic interest.

However for me, it is the most attractive of the five I have visited, in terms of environment. It is a woodland memorial park and Local Nature Reserve set in a large wood. The cemetery was laid out as an arboretum with a collection of more than 2,500 trees and shrubs and a "rosarium".

The first burial was in 1840. The cemetery fell into disrepair and was abandoned in the 1970s and became "wild". The London Borough of Hackney took over ownership of the site in the 80s, and today the whole area is well looked after.

The site of Abney Park was formed from the estates of Fleetwood House and Abney House, the latter of which had been the home of renowned non-conformist and hymn writer Isaac Watts. This association quickly made Abney the foremost burial ground for Dissenters – those practising their religion outside the established church. It was founded on these principles.

I went in the smaller south entrance. The main east High St gates are of Egyptian Revival style and feature hieroglyphics which read "The gates of the abode of the mortal part of man".

I hadn't heard of anyone who is buried here except for William and Catherine Booth, founders of The Salvation Army. Their grave is close to the south entrance. William died in 1912.

Incidentally there are statues of both of them in Whitechapel, as the Salvation Army was founded on Whitechapel Road.

And another outside William Booth College at Denmark Hall, by King's College Hospital (Google image) -

Close to their grave is the only mausoleum in the cemetery, it houses the remains of Dr Nathaniel Rogers, a wealthy doctor.

I loved the amount of vegetation and the fact that all the paths are well maintained, even the small ones. And there are many paths throughout the cemetery. There were also a lot of benches and everyone was occupied. It is obviously a popular place for locals to walk, exercise and drink coffee.

There are also lots of plaques with info about the historic trees. Some of the trees have now died but their location is noted, such as this dead Bhutan Pine planted in 1840 -

This is a large, recently restored memorial to Isaac Watts, the hymn  writer who had lived in Abney house. However he was buried in Bunhill Fields (which I visited in 2016).

This tomb caught my eye as it is one of the more ornate ones -

War memorial built in 1920s and has the names of those fallen from both the First and Second World Wars.

The chapel is of simple design with no features that might imply favouritism for one or other of the Christian sects that would use it. It was intended as a funerary chapel and not a place of worship. It was also non-denominational, as the cemetery was established to be open to all, regardless of religious belief.  The floor plan is in the shape of a cross and the arms of the cross are of equal length. It is the oldest surviving non-denominational chapel in Europe and is Grade II listed. The main entrance was covered for access by horse-drawn funeral carriages. The octagonal steeple is 120 feet (36.5 m) and was the tallest in the district when built in 1840. There is a 10-part rose window which fits with the horticultural role in the cemetery layout. The exterior is brickwork with facings of Bath stone.

A grand horse chestnut tree, with it's own carved sign -

I think these marks were made by a creeper rather than someone carving a design -

Many of the gravestones had these partly covered urns on top. Urns symbolise a vessel for the soul and the draped cloth indicates the thin veil between life and death.

This one is rather different -

This white marble lion commemorates the Bostock family. Frank Bostock travelled the world with a menagerie of animals and was a renown big cat tamer.

The next Magnificent Seven cemetery I visited was Highgate West and this also has a family grave with a lion, belonging to Geroge Wombwell, another travelling animal show.

I then went on a hunt for Joanna Vassa's grave. She was the daughter of Olaudah Equiano alias Gustavus Vassa, a black man who was shipped to England as a slave, served in the navy and obtained his freedom in 1766. He became a writer, Methodist and anti-slavery campaigner, and wrote a groundbreaking autobiography. I thought this was topical due to the recent publicity of the Black Lives Matter movement. Joanna was one of two daughters and her grave was only found in 2005 and is now listed by English Heritage.

These graves also caught my eye, the first for its intricate design and the second for the red granite pedestal and iron railings -

The Abney Park official website has lots of information about the history, heritage, people  and biodiversity.

London's only lighthouse, Trinity Buoy Wharf

London's only lighthouse is at Trinity Buoy Wharf, next to East India Dock, on the Thames.

I took the DLR train to East India and walked to the docks. They are located in Blackwall, northeast of the Isle of Dogs. Firstly I walked along the Thames and had a good view of the O2 arena.

The Virginia Quay Settlers Monument faces the O2 and commemorates the departure of settlers for Jamestown, Virginia (USA) in 1606. The bronze plaque was put up in 1928 and the stone and bronze monument in 1951.

I then walked the short distance to the East India Dock Basin. This is one of the 1400 beacons that were lit for the new millennium in 2000 -

The docks were constructed between 1803 and 1806 for the East India Company ships sailing to Blackwall. Today the basin is now a salt marsh wildlife sanctuary. There weren't many birds there when I visited.

I went onto Trinity Buoy Wharf

This is on the confluence of the Thames and Bow Creek. Walking to the wharf entrance there is a major building site to the left, for high rise apartments etc, and on the right are some old ship builders buildings

The wharf came into use in 1803 by Trinity House as a maintenance depot and storage for buoys as well as a dock for the lightships. The original lighthouse was demolished in 1922, leaving the second, which was built in 1864-66.

However the lighthouse was never used as an actual lighthouse. Instead it was used to test lighting systems for Trinity House's lights around England and Wales. Michael Faraday carried out experiments there. Both lighthouses were also used for training prospective lighthouse keepers.

Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) was an English scientist best remembered for his study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. He worked on the construction and operation of lighthouses as well as high-quality optical glass for lighthouses. His workshop still stands, it's the wooden hut in the photo above. This is the inside -

A few weeks later I went to Highgate West Cemetery and saw the grave of Michael Faraday -

The wharf was closed in 1988. Container City then arrived, used as studios. Now the whole area is used as an art centre by the University of East London.

There are also a few relics stored outside

The lighthouse is now home to the "Long Player". This is a musical composition that will play for 1000 years. It is a unique sound installation and features a 20 minute recording of the sound of Tibetan singing bowls, continuously repeated. It is infinitely varied by a computer programme that ensures the same sequence of sound will never be heard more than once in 1000 years. 
Unfortunately the lighthouse was closed when I visited due to the Covid-19 lockdown. You should be able to hear the live stream online, see longplayer.org (I couldn't get it to work). See more on the Longplayer Trust.

Kensal Green - a Magnificent Seven London cemetery

Kensal Green cemetery was the 4th of the Magnificent Seven London cemeteries that I have visited. The last one I visited prior to this was Tower Hamlets.

Kensal Green is located in northwest London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is on the Bakerloo underground line. The cemetery was originally known as the General Cemetery of All Souls, and is the oldest of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries and it is still in operation. It was opened in 1833.

The cemetery is quite long but narrow. I went in the West Gate. To the west of that is the St Mary's Cemetery and the West London crematorium. Along the southern border is the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal.

The cemetery is in Neoclassical style, (this began in the mid 18th century in Italy and France). There are a large number of Gothic monuments and some large mausoleums. A lot of structures are listed and the cemetery is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

A lot of structures had the entrance bricked up like this one, of Gen. Sir John Aitchison GCB (1789-1875). To the left is the mausoleum of H.R.H. The Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904)

This one is interesting, the grave of Andrew Ducrow (1793-1842). He was a circus performer and horse-rider and often called the "Father of British circus equestrianism". It is on the Main Avenue and one of the most decorated tombs in the cemetery with pagan decorations from Greek and Egyptian sources, hence the Sphinx.

Another ornate grave, Gen. Sir William Casement (1780-1844), of the Bengal Army.

Gas holder at Kensington gas works.

Athough there are a lot of notable burials in the cemetery, the main one I was interested in was that of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He was one of England's most notable civil engineers. He worked on The Thames Tunnel, and places I know well - the Clifton Suspension Bridge at Bristol, the Great Western Railway including the Box Tunnel. He died aged 53 in 1859.

I was expecting (hoping for) a really elaborate grave so was quite disappointed when I found it is just a family site, and his name is just one of many on the headstone.

And on the side of the headstone are names of more recent burials, the great granddaughter of
I.K. Brunel.

The gravestone has been restored and cleaned, after suffering from subsidence.
See more on Brunel's grave.


Kensal Green Cemetery webpage.