Bodie’s first visit to London. We considered the iconic greenery of Hyde Park, Primrose Hill, even Alexandra Palace… And then guest photographer James Breeds suggested Abney Park Cemetery. In Stoke Newington. There was a moment’s hesitation but what a wild and tangled treasure it turned out to be! Many of the gravestones are tumbled and tilting, lending an enticingly higgledy-piggledy, lost world vibe…
One of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ garden cemeteries in London, Abney Park sprawls over 30 acres and was the foremost burial ground for ‘Dissenters’ – those who practiced religion outside the established church – and thus was open to all. What makes it particularly unusual is that it was laid out as arboretum, with 2,500 varieties of plant, so instead of a cemetery it is charmingly referred to as a ‘Woodland Memorial Park’.
We were lucky enough to visit during the springtime blossoms and found steps strewn with pink petal confetti…
One toppled statue appeared to lie sleeping beside letters inviting her to RIP…
You can burrow down assorted paths of appealingly unkempt foliage…
Or take the outer circuit (trees are planted in alphabetical order around the perimeter!) and catch glimpses of the surrounding modern residential buildings – it made me wonder what it would be like to have a view of a cemetery from your kitchen sink. I think I might find myself pondering, wrist-deep in sudsy water, on a daily basis.
You could meander here for hours, reading the inscriptions on the grave stones (200,000 people have been laid to rest here, dating back to the 1800s) or perhaps losing yourself in a dusty old book with gold embossed lettering or sharing a simple picnic with your pal. There are one or two raggle taggle types but this place is so sprawling you can just bypass them and find your own Gothic green haven…
DOG-FRIENDLY ABNEY PARK CEMETERY: Website & Location Map
Telephone: 0207 275 7557 Email: info@abneypark.org