Abney Park Trust

We fund-raise for and maintain a key part of Hackney’s heritage; a pioneering non-denominational garden cemetery set in Lady Mary Abney and Dr Isaac Watts’ former parkland grounds that have a long association with education, and which were once the largest arboretum in the UK.

Today the grounds are a local nature reserve and Registered Park & Garden.
Its buildings are Grade II listed. Sadly it is on the national Heritage At Risk Register and urgently needs a comprehensive scheme of restoration and funding support.

In this setting we provide a Classroom, Children's Garden and Visitor's Centre, and an outdoor museum of monuments of cultural and historical significance, as well as an historic but neglected Chapel, and nature-rich woodlands. There are four main strands to our work:

* Education and play in an outdoor environment, and traditional crafts skill training (stone carving and woodcraft);

* Community arts/performance events, guided walks and volunteering

* Historical family-interest archive and outdoor museum of monuments and memorials;

* Conservation of wildlife and built structures, long-term planning, and site management of Abney Park.