Ever wondered who was first buried in Abney Park?

On the grey Tuesday morning of 2 June 1840, Rev’d James Mather (b. 1775) was the first person to be laid to rest in Abney Park Cemetery. James Mather was a Congregationalist Minister at the Upper Clapton Chapel. His funeral was held at Claremont Chapel and was officiated by Dr. John Leifchild, minister and author. At the time of his death he resided at White Conduit Street, Pentonville.

Mather not only worked as a minister, he was involved with the Ordination of Missionaries, commencing (amongst others) a service on 1st July 1833. Mather also had some of his sermons published, including ‘The Benevolence of God towards all Mankind’,  printed in 1833 ‘at the request of several who had heard it, and many others.’

On 26 April 1877 his son Robert Cotton Mather of Finchley was buried with him. Robert was a Congregationalist missionary at Mirzapore, India, from 1838 – 1873. He was the author of several religious works, including ‘a splendid service’ in the translation of the bible into Hindustani, from which he subsequently obtained the degree of L.L.D.

The Mather tomb is described as ‘white marble Neo-Grecian sarcophagus with splayed sides. The monumental mason is unknown. Now suffering from the detriment of time, Robert Cotton’s almost illegible epitaph reads “Thou hast borne and hast patience, and for My Name’s sake hast laboured and hast not fainted.”

The second burial in Abney Park was that of 16 year old Susannah, who resided at 6 Stoke Newington High St. She was buried on 7 June 1840 and lies with other family members near the War Memorial in section J06. 

Grave number 000001 is in section F06 (left at the first junction on Little Elm Walk). Although the grave looks close to the path side, there are two graves before it - the nearest plot number is 110112 and the plot closest to the path is number 000054. These three grave numbers alone indicate a seemingly random numbering of the graves in Abney Park. 

This is due to the fact that every person buried in Abney has a consecutive burial number, and the burial number of first person in any grave then becomes the grave number. Hence why grave numbers are not consecutive on the plot maps - numbers were dependant on the purchase of the grave and also the time in which the first person was buried.

The Abney Park Cemetery Company was accommodating to the wishes of grave purchasers, allowing them to select any area when purchasing a plot. The first 20 burials in Abney Park tend to be mostly around the central north-south axis, designated by Watts Walk.