Donating a Memorial ? Thinking about a Courtesy Burial ?

1. Donating a Monument, Tree or Plaque

The Trust is keen to support donations of memorials. Do please approach us if you are seeking a memorial bench, plaque, tree or stone associated with either a person's burial, the scattering of ashes, or simply in their memory. We can advise on the design and location options that accord with the Trust's Conservation Management and Accesss Plans.

2. Thinking about a Courtesy Burial

With regard to requests for new burials, please note that Abney Park closed as a cemetery company in 1978 and the Trust is not associated in any way with the former company. Today the park is an inactive burial ground managed for wider amenity and open space purposes. However it is not closed to burials altogether. Procedures exist for some continuity of burial provision, although the Trust does not handle these requests for ocassional courtesy or discretionary parkland burial.

Today, anyone wishing to ask for a burial permission in the park, now that there are no burial rights or deeds, must direct their request to Hackney Council who may exercise their discretion to grant an ocassional courtesy permission (though without the benefit of burial or headstone deeds or rights) in plots that were formerly set out for families by the Abney Park Cemetery Company before cessation of the deeds in 1978; even though more than 21 years has now elapsed.

On enquiry, you will probably be asked to show that a family member is already interred (for example, by having copies of the void family deeds that had a value before the company closed in 1978) and your proposal would need to accord with current Council policy.

3. Donation of a Memorial - some initial guidelines

Please be aware that any monument or memorial a family has donated, or wishes to donate, to the park is will inevitably incur some future maintenance costs. Whilst the Trust will endeavour to fund-raise for the park we depend entirely on the success of our applications for grants, and our success in attracting public and charitable donations. Your contributions and/or self-help will be appreciated.

3.Our Ideas for the Future

For the future, the Trust is considering only approving alternatives to conventional kerbed stonework for memorials in paths and frontage areas. These are causing access problems. A memorial tree or memorial path-edge kerb with carved inscription are two options; a third option is use of an inscribed flagstone. None of these would impede access or lead to the health and safety issues associated with donating a kerbed monument in an access area. Examples are shown below.

In the long term, the Trust would like to establish a well kept Memorial Garden in the west wing of the Church Street entrance frontage, to provide an attractively planted and designed open space just a short walk from the street. Here, use of wall space for mounting older memorials as at St.James' Church in the heart of London, would help access and views into the park (see example shown below).

Discuss