Headstone appeal launched for iconic Abney Park pioneer of female flight

Abney Park Trust and biographer Sharon Wright join forces to honour 19th-century balloonist Margaret Graham – the first British woman to fly solo -  with a campaign to raise £5,000

Update, 11th August: we’re delighted to have met our target!

Trailblazing British balloonist Margaret Graham, who currently lies in an unmarked pauper’s grave in Hackney’s Magnificent Seven cemetery and park, is the subject of a new fundraising campaign. 

The local volunteer-led Trust has set a £5,000 target to pay for the memorial. 

Mrs Graham was a pioneer of early female flight, showbiz celebrity and intrepid reporter who wrote gripping accounts of her aerial exploits. 

And now the Abney Park Trust, which looks after the park’s ecology, history and community in partnership with Hackney Council, has paired up with Sharon Wright – journalist and author of “The Lost History of the Lady Aeronauts”.

The two are working together to honour Mrs Graham by raising money for a fitting memorial to her remarkable life. Update, 11th August: we’re delighted to have met our target!

About Margaret Graham

Born Margaret Watson in Walcot, Bath, in 1804, she was married to chemist and aeronaut George Graham before they settled in London. 

She soon became a famous aeronaut in her own right and built an impressive career as a professional pilot over more than three decades, from the late Georgian era through to the mid-Victorian period.

In 1826, Margaret Graham became the first British woman to fly solo when she ascended in her balloon from Islington in north London aged just 22. 

She was also an early and outspoken advocate of a woman’s right to fly on equal terms with men. 

Graham wrote dramatic accounts of her many adventures for the press and accused critics of judging her failures – including some spectacular crashes – more harshly than those of her male counterparts. 

An early mistress of “spin”, she – like other headstrong and media-savvy Abney residents – fostered a close relationship with the press, securing column inches for her side of the story when her ascents went awry.

Yet despite a long and colourful career, Britain’s pre-eminent female aeronaut died impoverished aged at 60 and was buried in an unmarked common grave at the park – which is a famous Hackney urban woodland and nature reserve – in 1864.

Update, 11th August: we’re delighted to have met our target!

The memorial

More than a century and a half later, Stoke Newington stonemason Charlotte Ruse has been asked to create a beautiful hand-carved slate headstone to honour Mrs Graham. 

It will feature a relief carving of the celebrated aeronaut in her balloon and the date she made history with her solo flight. The memorial will also feature names of the four people who share Margaret’s grave.

The Abney Park Trust’s ongoing quest to recognise women of achievement who died too poor to afford a headstone saw the Trust install a monument to pioneer Betsi Cadwaladr, the Welsh nurse dubbed “the forgotten Florence Nightingale”. The Trust also organises regular history walks to celebrate the stories of the women of Abney.

The campaign

You can donate securely via the Abney Park Trust’s Margaret Graham campaign donation page here. All donations, no matter how large or small, are gratefully received. 

Sharon Wright, author of “The Lost History of the Lady Aeronauts” and a campaigner for the preservation of Margaret Graham’s legacy, said: “Margaret was a charismatic and fearless pioneer who helped make the sky an early frontier of female freedom.”

“When I researched her life story I found a complex, savvy, self-made woman in what is often assumed to have been a male-only realm.” 

“You cannot help but love Mrs Graham, mother of a large family, for her professional achievements, her determination to control her own story and her sheer hard work.”

“I was delighted when the Trust shared my enthusiasm for a memorial to this remarkable, overlooked resident. It’s high time the one and only Mrs Graham had a headstone and together, we can make that happen.”

Tom Walker, chair of the Abney Park Trust, said: “Monument restoration and development is a key part of the Trust’s role as a guardian of this magical urban woodland and Magnificent Seven cemetery.” 

“We’re delighted to work with Sharon to keep tell the inspiring story of this leading female aeronaut, over a century on.”

For more information, please contact info@abneypark.org.