Abney Park in Stoke Newington, one of the ‘magnificent seven’ garden cemeteries of London, is a woodland memorial park and Local Nature Reserve, managed by the Abney Park Trust. It is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family.
In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, a semi-public park arboretum, and an educational institute, which was widely celebrated as an example of its time.
There are over 200,000 people laid to rest in Abney Park Cemetery, from world-famous names such as William Booth to relatively unsung heroes, such as Betsi Cadwaladr who, aged over 60, worked as a nurse alongside Florence Nightingale in the Crimea War.
Abney Park was included on the Heritage at Risk Register in 2009, as one of Britain's historic parks and gardens at risk from neglect and decay. It is a designated Local Nature Reserve and Conservation Area. Apart from the South Lodge extension on the forecourt, Abney Park's freehold is owned by the London Borough of Hackney. The park is situated near Stoke Newington High Street, London N16, and it is leased to the Abney Park Trust. It occupies 12.53 hectares (31.0 acres), which includes a nature reserve, a classroom, a visitor's centre and a central chapel which is disused. The park is normally opened by the Trust for free public access on weekdays and weekends from about 9.30 am to 5 pm.
The Chapel’s first foundation stone was laid by the Lord Mayor of London Sir Chapman Marshall on the 20th of May 1840, the day of the opening ceremony of Abney Park Cemetery.
The architect of the chapel was William Hosking FSA (1800 - 1861), a professor in architecture & civil engineering, and the first professor of architecture at Kings College. Hosking worked in conjunction with builder John Jay of London (interred in Abney Park on Dr Watts' Walk), and George Loddiges of Hackney, the renowned horticulturalist.
Central to the design of Abney Park, the chapel is the oldest surviving non-denominational chapel in Europe, and is the only surviving public building designed by Hosking, then considered a controversial architect. Hosking carefully planned the chapel to reflect a lack of bias towards any one Christian sect and the cruciform plan adopted the equal arms of the Greek cross, giving perceptual strength to the concept of equality before God.
The chapel is Gothic, with a single interdenominational cell and one covered horse and carriage entrance. It was not consecrated and functioned purely as a funerary chapel - not a place of worship. Hosking used London Yellow Stock brick for the exterior brickwork, as well as wrought Bath Stone facings. Romanesque and Neoclassical features modified his interpretation of the Gothic architectural styles so closely associated with forms of Christian worship. No tracery was used on the three-pointed gothic windows, representing careful consideration of design simplicity.
Vandalism and fire damage have resulted in the Grade II listed chapel being closed for many years and categorised as a building 'at risk' Category A by English Heritage.
The chapel was hoarded off in October 2012 by Hackney Council as a safety measure.
The cache is a 1.25L lock and lock type tupperware in a camo bag. Its big enough for a heap of trackables and larger sized swaps. Please make use of this 'roomy' city cache and leave some good swaps for geokids. After all Swallows and Amazons is all about pirate adventures and treasure! (sort of!)
Heading south it is on the right hand side of this muddy little side path which i believe does not have an official name. It is at ground level with relatively easy access. (Thought please note that due to its narrow size and steep slant it is not suitable for buggys or wheelchairs and after rain it is like a muddy pig pen...but still lots of fun to explore!). There is a log but no pen and lots of child friendly treasure. Please make sure you cover it well with bark and leaves and other natural camo before leaving it. Please pick up any rubbish you find and leave no trace you have been here....Happy Hunting!
Cache Placed with permission of the Park Trust - Permission on File