Category: Social History Page 1 of 15

On my recent visit to Abney Park I came across this bench …

Let me quote from one of the published tributes to the Mally Powell who is remembered here: ‘Mally Powell was the singer with the cult glam disco funk band Zip Zip Undo Me. He was the writer of great songs including (Mind Your) Plums and Fist (“She’s back, she’s risen, she’s bent the bars of Holloway Prison”). Dressed in leather, ripped fishnets, sequins, and fake fur, Mally swirled his tail in the face of current trends, avoiding the de-rigueur shoe-gazing of the period, to command the stage like a disco fuelled Iggy Pop’.

Mally in action …

He died in 2013 at the sadly young age of 48. You can see images and hear a performance here and here. Read a full obituary here.

He died in Wales and I have been unable to find out where he is buried but this bench is certainly a form of immortality (I don’t normally Google glam disco funk band singers!).

Now some more about Abney Park itself.

In the early 1800s, London’s rapid population growth proved too much for inner city burial grounds, which were literally overflowing. Parliament passed a bill in 1832 to encourage the establishment of new private cemeteries. Within ten years, seven had been established (later dubbed ‘The Magnificent Seven’ by architectural historian Hugh Meller), one of which was Abney Park.

A modest entrance in Church Street …

The site of Abney Park was formed from the estates of Fleetwood House and Abney House, the latter of which had been the home of renowned non-conformist and hymn writer Isaac Watts. This association quickly made Abney the foremost burial ground for Dissenters – those practising their religion outside the established church. It was founded on these principles, with a non-denominational chapel at its core, and was open to all, regardless of religious conviction. Over 200,000 people are laid to rest here.

Here are some of the other highlights of my visit.

Possibly the most well-known resident of Abney Park is William Booth, English methodist preacher and founder of the Salvation Army …

After a childhood marred by poverty, Booth preached to the sinners of Nottingham with Will Sansom, then moved to London in 1849, finding work as a pawnbroker. In 1851 he left his job and, after years of Methodist evangelical preaching, he founded the East London Christian Mission at Mile End in 1865. After an incident in 1878 the Salvation Army was established. With his wife Catherine, herself a formidable preacher, Booth worked hard to abolish poverty, homelessness and vice, publishing ‘In Darkest England and the Way Out’ in 1890. Operations extended worldwide to include America, France and Australia. Many other Salvationists are buried in this area …

Bostock’s lion …

Frank Bostock was a well-known menagerist responsible for the introduction of many exotic animals to Victorian England. Known as ‘the animal king’, he travelled the world. The Bostock animal arena was a main attraction at Coney Island in the early 1900s. ‘Bostock’s Arena and Jungle’ is recorded as being held at Earls Court in 1908 and then visited principal cities in the UK over the following years. At the time of his death in 1912, Bostock had over a thousand animals in his various shows. He had circus shows and amusement parks in America, Australia, Europe and South Africa. The floral tributes at his funeral took up five carriages.

Bostock and his lions. Brave chap! I think he’s pretending to be nonchalantly reading a newspaper …

PC William Frederick Tyler lost his life in the line of duty …

He was killed on 23 January 1909 by armed criminals while giving chase in what became known as ‘The Tottenham Outrage’. A wages robbery was staged by two left-wing Latvian migrants in Tottenham. The pursuit ended after an estimated 2 hours, after covering 6 miles. Sadly 10 year old Ralph Jocelyn was also fatally struck by the cross-fire. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the joint funeral for PC Tyler and Ralph on 29 January. The grade II listed monument was commissioned by the Metropolitan Police, who also paid for a plot for the Jocelyn family nearby.

The Reverend Henry Richard …

Henry Richard was born in Tregaron, Wales in 1812. After obtaining qualifications for the ministry at Highbury College, he became a Congregational minister. He was known as ‘the Apostle of Peace’, being an advocate for peace and international arbitration. He was also respected for his non-conformist and anti-slavery work. Rev’d Richard was secretary of the Peace Society from 1848-1884 and a Welsh MP from 1868-1888. After his sudden death in 1888 the Richard monument was erected by public subscription in 1891. This grand memorial is Grade II listed.

The only mausoleum permitted by the Abney Park Cemetery Company is that of Dr. Nathaniel Rogers …

Rogers, who died in 1884, was a doctor of medicine known for his philanthropic works. He edited medical books, lectured and sympathised with anti-slavery supporters. Dr Rogers was a Baptist, supporting their meetings, and involvement in the non-denominational London Missionary Society. He made donations to assist with the restoration of the Pulteney Monument at Westminster Abbey, stained glass windows at St Paul’s Cathedral, Abney Park Chapel and the Union Chapel. Twenty years before his death, Rogers designed this Grade II listed mausoleum for himself.

A portrait from his 1847 book Obituaries of eminent persons and private friends …

African-American Eric Walrond is one of the most respected Harlem Renaissance writers …

Born in Guyana, he later moved to New York in the 1920s. His work, including the classic Tropic Death, was influenced by his years growing up in the Caribbean and the slave trade’s legacy. In the 1930s he moved to England and died in London in 1966. This monument was carved by a member of Abney Park’s stone carving group. Walrond is buried in an unmarked public grave in the area behind the headstone.

James Braidwood was a fire-fighter of Scottish descent. He founded the
first fire-service in Edinburgh and later became the first director of
the London Fire Brigade. By 1830, Braidwood had established principles
of fire fighting that were published and are still in use today …

The funeral procession was over one mile long, the hearse was tailed by 15 coaches and representatives of all London Fire Brigades, the Rifle Brigade and the police were present. You can read more about this brave man and the Tooley Street fire in my blog of the same name which you can find here.

Joanna Vassa was the daughter of the man who could claim to be Britain’s first Black activist, Olaudah Equiano alias Gustavus Vassa. Equiano was shipped to England as a slave, served in the navy and obtained his freedom in 1766. He became a writer, Methodist and anti-slavery campaigner, and wrote a groundbreaking autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life Of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, published in 1789 …

Vassa married Susannah Cullen of Soham, Cambridgeshire and they had two daughters. This monument was discovered in the early 1990s in bad condition. After restoration works funded by Abney Park Trust in 2016, it was removed from the English Heritage ‘At Risk’ register.

Abney Park Chapel …

The first foundation stone of the chapel was laid by the then Lord Mayor of London, Sir  Chapman Marshall, on 20 May 1840. The architect of the chapel was William Hosking FSA (1800–1861), a professor in Architecture and Civil Engineering, and the first professor of Architecture at Kings College.

Abney Park Chapel is the oldest surviving non-denominational chapel in Europe, and is the only surviving public building by Hosking, then considered a controversial architect. Hosking planned the Chapel to reflect the lack of bias towards any one Christian sect and the cruciform plan adopted the equal arms of the Greek cross, to show the concept of equality before God. It functioned as a funerary chapel – not a place of worship.

The Chapel is the first building known to have been built by John Jay. His varied body of works included building the Victorian clock tower and the city clock of the Houses of Parliament during the 1850s and his body rests nearby …

The rich baroque sarcophagus of white stone with a curved belly, standing on four delightful lion’s paws with elaborately carved filigree at each end, is rumoured to have been sculpted by Jay himself.

It was nice to be accompanied some of the way by a friendly, territorial Robin, a bird believed by some to represent a visit by the spirit of lost loved ones …

Some miscellaneous images.

The War Memorial…

One of the 140 marked graves …

Intriguingly, I discovered two tombstones with musical notes on them and my friend Anne, doyenne of ancestry research, has found out more about the people using census records.

Henry James De Boodt appears to have been a general labourer,  GPO worker and builder at various times. His son, however, was a piano tuner, so maybe Henry was a music lover and his son had the talent to decorate the memorial accordingly …

The other stone marks the grave of Gladys St Aubyn Dunn. She had at one time been a governess and at the time of the 1921 census was a music teacher for the Evening Institute. Maybe she chose the musical score herself? The poem is also rather sweet …

I caught a glimpse of an anchor …

… and investigated further …

The inscription tells the sad tale of an only child called Harry, aged just 17, drowned in an accident off the coast of Colombo.

Abney is a wonderful place. It is managed by a Trust and you can donate to its work here. There is also a nice cafe just inside the main entrance.

Incidentally, you’ll find this lion in another of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries. It’s the tomb of Frank Bostock’s one-time partner George Wombwell …

Read more about it here in my blog about Highgate.

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