Abney Park #4: QI Mini-Multi
The cache, a 35mm film canister inside a black taped plastic pot, is hidden just off the path in the north-west part of Abney Park Cemetery (APC), a remarkable graveyard and tree-rich park. It is based on the gravestone of William Nicholson Dent and his family. He is believed to have been a woollen draper (cloth seller) of High Holborn, Middlesex.
This single step (posted coordinates) mini-multi will only take a few minutes to do.
Permission to place the cache was kindly granted by the Parks Development Officer, Leisure & Green Spaces, Hackney Council.
To reach the cache location: enter the Park (open daily from 08:00 to dusk) at either the Stoke Newington Church Street entrance on the southern edge @ N 51 33.738 W 0 4.663 or the Stoke Newington High Street entrance on the eastern edge @ N 51 33.815 W 0 4.405 and make your way using any of the numerous paths to the start point.
Step 1: At N 51 33.951 W 0 4.795 you will be standing in front of the a large gravestone with numerous inscribed names of the Dent family. Reading through these you will learn that:
A: William died in the Ath month of 1866
B: Sarah, his wife, died aetat (aged) B1 years
C: His son, Jeremiah who died in 1853 aged only 18 is buried elsewhere. The alphanumeric value (A=1 B=2 C=3 etc) of the 2nd letter of the name of the church where his grave is located = C
D: Daughter Sarah Louisa died in 186D
E: Daughter-in-law Eliza died aged 40 in 1866 at a town in County Dublin. The number of letters in the name of this town = E
F: Grandson John Willdridge died in May 1861 aged only 1F weeks
The cache is hidden at:
N 51 33.(A+C)BF W 0 4.(D+7)E(B-2)
For extensive background information on the Park see lauralai's long-established GC4XGPP Deep Dark Wood cache.
Some additional QI info on APC - the '7 Secrets of APC' . . .
1. Lion Tamer's Grave: a big white lion marks the grave of Frank Bostock (and his wife, Susannah). Known for educating Victorian Britain about African and Asian wildlife, he was a lion trainer from age 15. He survived mauling by a tiger and lion and had his finger bitten off by an ape. He died of flu (see here for more info on this fascinating man)
2. Rebels at Rest: when opened in 1840, APC was a burial site for nonconformists - those who rejected the Church of England and didn't identify with any particular Christian sect. It was established at the time when Bunhill Fields - the main London burial ground for dissenters - was becoming full. The chapel is Europe's longest standing non-denominational chapel. Controversial architect William Hosking was careful in his chapel design (the 1st stone was laid on cemetery opening day) to ensure it showed no bias towards a particular Christian sect
3. Entertainers at Rest: many Victorian comedians, pantomime actors and other performers are buried 
here, including: Albert Chevalier - music hall comedian, singer and musical theatre actor - with the amazing full name of Albert Onésime Britannicus Gwathveoyd Louis Chevalier!, Nelly Power - songstress and male impersonator, Herbert Campbell - famous comedian and 'Dame of Drury Lane' panto star and George Leybourne (aka Champagne Charlie) whose act extolled the joys of high living - sadly he died penniless
4. Pop culture: late singer-songwriter, Amy Winehouse filmed the cemetery scenes for her Back to Black music video at APC (see here)
5. Ancient 'bush': APC has many rare species of plants and insects. Its designers, architect John Hoskins and horticulturalist George Loddiges wished to create a space combining burials with a public space full of trees from around the world. The oldest of these is the 170 year-old Perry's Weeping Holly (actually a bush - Ilex aquifolium 'Argentea Marginata Pendula').
100s of insect species thrive in the grounds including the hover fly Pocota personata, the rare moth Adela reaumurella and girdled mining bee Andrena labiata
6. Fire, fire, fire: surprisingly APC has had its share of fires. One fire damaged two ash trees in the 1890s. On Sir Isaac Watts walk, a silver birch was struck by lightning, but survived with a long black gash down its trunk. The centre chapel also burned down in the 1970s. It was then empty for over 40 years and fell into increasing disrepair until this was addressed through a huge renovation project - reopening in August 2017.
7. Keep off the mushrooms! All plants in the cemetery are probably contaminated with arsenic from bodies embalmed in the Victorian era and mushrooms are also likely to be contaminated by lead from the lead-lined coffins used by the Victorians
See here for a fine photoblog on autumn in APC