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Who is Abney Park Trust?

Abney Park Trust has been supporting Abney since it first became a charity in 1991, and the charity’s roots go back to the early days in the 1970s and 80s of the campaign to save the cemetery and open it to the public.

We’re proud to be a small part of the rich, vibrant mix of different communities that make up the borough of Hackney.

We have one brilliant member of staff, and at our heart we are a volunteer led charity. Our trustees are volunteers and many local people volunteer with us on a wide range of activities: events organisation and management, history books and filmmaking, litter picking, grave/monument restoration, nature conservation and research, working closely with Hackney Council and other local groups.

The role of Abney Park Trust

The role of Abney Park Trust is not to be a user group or run the park. The role of Abney Park Trust is dictated by our charitable objectives as set out in our constitution as a charity. These are:

- the conservation and restoration of Abney Park Cemetery as an area of architectural and ecological significance, and historical and religious association

- to help improve life for people living in London, especially in Hackney, by working together with the Council, community groups, and residents. We aim to support education and provide recreational and leisure activities that promote wellbeing and social welfare, welcoming everyone regardless of race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, politics or beliefs

- to help people learn more about Abney, by creating and sharing stories, and images, writings, and artefacts about the cemetery’s history, development, connections, and environment. Please see our “about us” page for more about what we do and to read a bit about the current trustees.

Are you a user group for Abney?

No: we recognise the valuable role that user groups have to play in parks and public spaces like Abney, connecting the Council, who manages Abney, to the views of users.

There have been a number of different user groups over the years, the most recent becoming active in 2024. This group doesn’t currently have a website but can be found on Facebook here.

Does Abney Park Trust run the park?

No: the park is managed by the Parks Team of Hackney Council.