Self-guided tour: Heritage and wildlife - Route 1
Take a personal tour of Abney Park’s rich heritage and wildlife using this guide. Route 1 features the Chapel, Commonwealth War Memorial, Bostock’s lion, Dr Isaac Watts and William Booth among other key figures.
Route 1
Route map:
TOUR Start
Enter at the Stoke Newington High Street entrance walking through the Egyptian style gates. Take the Chapel Road, the path on the right hand side, and continue to walk until you reach our first point of interest on our tour.
(1) BHUTAN PINE
The Bhutan pine is native to the Himalayas, and this tree is an original planting. The arboretum at Abney Park was designed by George Loddiges of the renowned Hackney hothouse and contained 2,500 trees and shrubs. Each was labelled and the plantings were arranged alphabetically by their Latin names around the perimeter of the cemetery. The species went from Acer (maple trees) to Zanthoxylum - the American toothache tree.
Continue along this road and take the second path on the right. Walk up this path and then take the second turning on the left, which is Mather Path. Walk along until you have just passed Little Elm Walk on your right. Here lies James Mather, the first person to be interred at Abney Park.
(2) JAMES MATHER
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. Mather not only worked as a minister, he was also involved with the Ordination of Missionaries, commencing (amongst others) a service on 1 July 1833. His son, Robert Cotton Mather of Finchley, was buried with him on 26 April 1877. Robert was a Congregationalist missionary at Mirzapore, India, from 1838–1873.
Continue along Mather Path until you reach the junction and turn right and walk briefly onto Great Elm Walk to see our next point of interest: a fine example of bracket fungi (point 3).
(3) BRACKET FUNGI
The grounds of Abney Park have not been cultivated or farmed and this allows a wide range of fungi to establish numbering at just over 250 variations. The mix of fungi is unusual because it is an inner city walled woodland and is thus protected during the winter allowing species to maximise their growth. The genus name for this fungus is Rigidoporus Ulmarius, sometimes called the Giant Elm Bracket. This was first noted at Abney Park in 2009, although it was probably established before this.
Head back to the junction you just came from and this time take the diagonal path in front of you. This will take you to the back of the Chapel. Walk around this to take in the impressive architecture.
(4) ABNEY PARK CHAPEL
The first foundation stone of the chapel was laid by the then Lord Mayor of London, Sir Chapman Marshall, on 20 May 1840. The architect of the chapel was William Hosking FSA (1800–1861), a professor in Architecture and Civil Engineering, and the first professor of Architecture at Kings College.
Abney Park Chapel is the oldest surviving non-denominational chapel in Europe, and is the only surviving public building by Hosking, then considered a controversial architect. Hosking planned the Chapel to reflect the lack of bias towards any one Christian sect and the cruciform plan adopted the equal arms of the Greek cross, to show the concept of equality before God. It functioned as a funerary chapel – not a place of worship.
The unusual ten part rose windows echoed George Loddiges’ rosarium, which contained over 1,000 varieties of rose. Standing at 120 feet, the spire was the tallest in the district at the time.
In 2016 stabilising works funded by Heritage England and Hackney Council took place. A new slate roof was installed, pointing was replaced in the brickwork, missing architectural details were replaced and the spire was cleaned and repaired. In conjunction with Abney Park Trust, further works are planned as part of the new National Heritage Lottery Fund and Hackney Council restoration project to restore the chapel as the heart of Abney Park.
From the front of the chapel, walk towards the war memorial that you can see up ahead.
(5) COMMONWEALTH WAR MEMORIAL
The War Memorial was built over the existing catacombs shortly after 1922. There are 262 Commonwealth burials from the First World War (1914-1918) and a further 113 from the Second World War (1939-1945). Those 280 people, whose graves could not be marked by individual headstones, are recorded by name on the north-facing Screen Wall behind the Cross of Sacrifice, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield. In earlier days, a bed of shrubs laid in the bed between the Cross and the parapet edges. (There is no record of when this was removed.)
Turn to face the chapel again and take the path on your left (Catacomb Walk) and walk to the end where the path meets Lion’s Road. Here you will see Abney Park’s most iconic monument: Bostock’s Lion.
(6) BOSTOCK'S LION
Frank Bostock was a well-known menagerist responsible for the introduction of many exotic animals to Victorian England. Known as ‘the animal king’, he travelled the world. The Bostock animal arena was a main attraction at Coney Island in the early 1900s. 'Bostock's Arena and Jungle' is recorded as being held at Earls Court in 1908 and then visited principal cities in the UK over the following years. At the time of his death in 1912, Bostock had over a thousand animals in his various shows. He had circus shows and amusement parks in America, Australia, Europe and South Africa. The floral tributes at his funeral took up five carriages.
Continue south down Lion’s Road until you reach the next path on your left: Tyler Path. Walk along towards the end to see the grave belonging to Tyler himself.
(7) PC WILLIAM TYLER
PC William Frederick Tyler lost his life in the line of duty. He was killed on 23 January 1909 by armed criminals while giving chase in what became known as ‘The Tottenham Outrage’. A wages robbery was staged by two left-wing Latvian migrants in Tottenham. The pursuit ended after an estimated 2 hours, after covering 6 miles. Sadly 10 year old Ralph Jocelyn was also fatally struck by the cross-fire. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the joint funeral for PC Tyler and Ralph on 29 January. The grade II listed monument was commissioned by the Metropolitan Police, who also paid for a plot for the Jocelyn family nearby.
At the end of this path you will turn right onto Dr Watts Walk where you will see the notable monument to Isaac Watts.
(8) DR ISAAC WATTS
Dr Watts was a famous nonconformist English Christian minister, theologian and wit. He was a prolific hymn writer, poet, and notable man of logic with many quotes attributed to him. He is credited with writing some 750 psalms alone, the most famous still in use today, which has earned him the title "The Father of English Hymnody". Watts connection to Stoke Newington lasted much of his life, from studying at a Dissenting Academy for nonconformists at Newington Green, tutoring and living locally, to spending 36 years living in the household of Sir Thomas and Lady Mary Abney, mostly at Abney Park, until his death in 1748.
The Grade II listed statue was erected in front of the Abney Park Chapel in 1845, funded by public donation. It was designed by the leading British sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily RA FRS, who also sculpted the statue of Lord Nelson atop Nelson's Column.
The monument has undergone significant recent repairs as part of the Abney Park Trust monument restoration programme.
Continue south down Dr Watts Walk (with Watts watching you go) for a short time until you come to our ninth point of interest on your right-hand side.
(9) JOANNA VASSA
Joanna was the daughter of the man who could claim to be Britain's first Black activist, Olaudah Equiano alias Gustavus Vassa. Equiano 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 The Interesting Narrative of the Life Of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, published in 1789.
Vassa married Susannah Cullen of Soham, Cambridgeshire and they had two daughters. This monument was discovered in the early 1990s in bad condition. After restoration works funded by Abney Park Trust in 2016, it was removed from the English Heritage ‘At Risk’ register.
Shortly after, we come across the grave of John Jay.
(10) JOHN JAY
Abney Park Chapel is the first building known to have been built by John Jay. His varied body of works included building the Victorian clock tower and the city clock of the Houses of Parliament during the 1850s. The rich baroque sarcophagus of white stone with a curved belly, standing on four delightful lion's paws with elaborately carved filigree at each end, is rumoured to have been sculpted by Jay himself.
Continue down the path you are on, this time looking on your left. Here you will come across the grave of Eric Walrond.
(11) ERIC WALROND
African-American Eric Walrond, is one of the most respected Harlem Renaissance writers. Born in Guyana, he later moved to New York in the 1920s. His work, including the classic Tropic Death, was influenced by his years growing up in the Caribbean and the slave trade’s legacy. In the 1930s he moved to England and died in London in 1966. This monument was carved by a member of Abney Park’s stone carving group. Walrond is buried in an unmarked public grave in the area behind the headstone.
At the end of Dr Watts Walk, take the right-hand path where you will come across the grave of James Braidwood.
(12) JAMES BRAIDWOOD
James Braidwood was a fire-fighter of Scottish descent. He founded the first fire-service in Edinburgh and later became the first director of the London Fire Brigade. By 1830, Braidwood had established principles of fire fighting that were published and are still in use today. He died in the Tooley Street fire of 1861 when a falling wall crushed him. The funeral procession was over one mile long, the hearse was tailed by 15 coaches and representatives of all London Fire Brigades, the Rifle Brigade and the police were present. This monument was rediscovered in 1981 and holds a Grade II listing.
Now follow the path round in the motion of an ‘S’, arriving at the left-hand side of Abney House Corner (facing south). Here we come across our thirteenth point of interest: Rev Henry Richard.
(13) REV HENRY RICHARD
Henry Richard was born in Tregaron, Wales in 1812. After obtaining qualifications for the ministry at Highbury College, he became a Congregational minister. He was known as ‘the Apostle of Peace’, being an advocate for peace and international arbitration. He was also respected for his non-conformist and anti-slavery work. Rev’d Richard was secretary of the Peace Society from 1848-1884 and a Welsh MP from 1868-1888. After his sudden death in 1888 the Richard monument was erected by public subscription in 1891. This grand memorial is Grade II listed.
Follow round the curve of Abney House Corner to see the impressive resting place of Dr Nathaniel Rogers.
(14) DR NATHANIEL ROGERS
The only mausoleum permitted by the Abney Park Cemetery Company is that of Dr. Nathaniel Rogers. Rogers, who died in 1884, was a doctor of medicine known for his philanthropic works. He edited medical books, lectured and sympathised with anti-slavery supporters. Dr Rogers was a Baptist, supporting their meetings, and involvement in the non-denominational London Missionary Society. He made donations to assist with the restoration of the Pulteney Monument at Westminster Abbey, stained glass windows at St Paul’s Cathedral, Abney Park Chapel and the Union Chapel. Twenty years before his death, Rogers designed this Grade II listed mausoleum for himself.
Continue round to the neighbouring gravestone of the Booths.
(15) WILLIAM BOOTH
Possibly the most well-known resident of Abney Park is William Booth, English methodist preacher and founder of the Salvation Army. After a childhood marred by poverty, Booth preached to the sinners of Nottingham with Will Sansom, then moved to London in 1849, finding work as a pawnbroker. In 1851 he left his job and, after years of Methodist evangelical preaching, he founded the East London Christian Mission at Mile End in 1865. After an incident in 1878 the Salvation Army was established. With his wife Catherine, herself a formidable preacher, Booth worked hard to abolish poverty, homelessness and vice, publishing ‘In Darkest England and the Way Out’ in 1890. Operations extended worldwide to include America, France and Australia.
Booth died in 1912 and his funeral procession extended for miles, culminating at his burial place near the Church Street entrance. Many other Salvationists are buried in this area including his wife Catherine, his son Bramwell, George Railton-Scott and others.
This concludes our tour where you can either choose to leave by the nearby exit on Church Street, or follow the South Boundary Road back round to the exit on Stoke Newington High Street.
[Tour information and photography courtesy of Haydn S.]
We need your continued support
We’re seeking donations to help Abney Park Trust curate a series of events, audio tours and publications on Abney as part of our mission to promote Abney’s history, wildlife and role in the community. We’re also looking to raise funds for our monument restoration programme. Please support us so we can continue in the care and promotion of this beautiful space.