Introduction

The historic grounds of Abney Park are situated in Stoke Newington, London, England. It is a 13ha (32 acre) park dating from just before 1700AD. In the early 1700s it became landscaped and laid-out by the first Lady of the Manor of Stoke Newington, Lady Mary Abney, who moved here on the death of her husband, Sir Thomas Abney. She was helped in this task by the learned Dr Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family who leased the eastern part of the park from Lady Abney. The Castle Climbing Centre, once the main Water Board pumping station. ... This article is about the British city. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked... Isaac Watts. ...

In the early 17th century, Lady Mary Abney's park was accessed via the frontages and gardens of two large mansions — her own manor house (Abney House) and the neighbouring Fleetwood House on her manorial estate. Both mansions fronted onto Church Street in the quiet nonconformist village of Stoke Newington. Landscape improvements carried out by Dr Isaac Watts and Lady Mary Abney included the planting of two elm walks — the Great Elm Walk and Little Elm Walk that established shady walks down to the island Heronry of the Hackney Brook at the bottom of the park. Both Wych Elm and English Elm were planted. At the neighbouring Fleetwood House, one of the early UK plantings of a Cedar of Lebanon tree had already taken place, adjacent to an ornamental pond. This tree survived into the 1920s and is illustrated in many engravings. A nonconformist is an English or Welsh Protestant of any non-Anglican denomination, chiefly advocating religious liberty. ... The Castle Climbing Centre, once the main Water Board pumping station. ... Isaac Watts. ... Binomial nomenclature Ulmus glabra Huds. ... Binomial name Ulmus minor var. ... Binomial name Cedrus libani A. Rich. ...

Other trees planted at an early date at Abney Park (either in the portion leased to Fleetwood Hosue, or that attached solely to Abney House) included American Larch and [Tulip Tree|Tulip Trees]] from the New World where Stoke Newington's nonconformists had strong connections. Binomial name Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch Tamarack Larch, or Tamarack or American Larch (Larix laricina) is a species of larch native to northern North America, mainly in Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the northeastern United States from Minnesota... Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ... The Castle Climbing Centre, once the main Water Board pumping station. ...

Abney House

Abney Park was dominated by Abney House. In its final days it became a Wesleyan Methodist training college or seminary c.1838/9-1843, and was then 'recycled' (broken up for sale as building materials for the building trade of the rapidly expanding metropolis) as was common in the Vicotrian era. The governorship of the ministerial training establishment at Abney House was granted to the Rev. John Farrar 1802-1884 (Secretary of the Methodist Conference on fourteen occasions and twice its elected President). When the Methodists moved into their first purpose-built college at Richmond in 1843 he became the Classical Tutor and remained there until 1857. The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ...

Fleetwood House

Alongside the Methodist Training college was another educational establishment of note in Abney Park: a Quaker achool for girl's which attracted various appelations including 'Newington College for Girls' or 'Newington Academy for Girls', and satirically as 'Newington Nunnery'.

One visitor, Jospeh Pease (who became the first Quaker MP and whose daughter was important in slavery abolition) wrote of the Girl's school at Abney Park in 1827, shortly after it acquired the first school bus (Shillibeer) in the world: Joseph Pease Joseph Pease (22 June 1799 – 8 February 1872) was involved in the early railway system in England and was the first Quaker elected to Parliament. ...

"Dear Coz* in my last

I shewed the advantage as well as renown

That our body of Friends cannot fail to acquire

By the Female Establishment 2 miles from Town"

"Where the pupils imbibe such astounding variety

Of stores intellectual - I solemly vow

Since the earliest days of the Quaker Society,

Such achievements by girls were ne'er heard of till now."

"No science, no art, in their tribe is a mystery

The path of the earth and the tides of the sea,

Cosmography, Algebra, Chemistry, History

To those juvenile Blues are a mere A.B.C"

"And in languages -oh you'd not credit their skill !

One can scarce name a tongue, Coz, but what they can reason in,

Greek, Hebrew, French, Latin, Italian at will,

With Irish and Welch for ocassional seasoning."

"The strainht path of Truth the dear Girl's keep their feet in

And ah ! It would do your heart good Cousin Anne

To see them arriving at Gracechurch Street Meeting**

All snugly packed 25 in a van***."

[*Cousin Anne; **the Quaker Meeting House in the City of London that they attended for services; ***the first school bus in the world, a 'Shillibeer']

Pease's poem reflects the novelty of a school for girls teaching sciences in such detail at this date. This was in no small measure due to the influence of the school's benefactor, the Quaker scientist and abolitionist William Allen, and to its headmistress, Susanna Corder. William Allen is the name of several notable people: William Allen, 1919-1985, Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto William Allen (1704-1780), Chief justice of colonial Pennsylvania William Allen, (1770-1843), English Quaker, pharmacist and philanthropist William Allen (1793-1864), British Naval Officer, Rear Admiral William Allen (1803-1879), American statesman...

The school's first prospectus was issued on 14th August 1824 and it bagan taking pupils shortly thereafter. It is unclear when it closed, but the novel Quaker girl's school lost exclusive use of the eastern portion of Abney Park when the Abney Park Cemetery was formed in 1840, though the pupils thereafter benefitted from its splendid educational arboretum designed by Loddiges. Fleetwood House itself was demolished in 1872. Abney Park Cemetery—every turn of the path reveals a new and unique landscape (September 2005). ... Bamboo foliage with black stems (probably Phyllostachys nigra; a bamboo introduced into western cultivation by Loddiges Nursery) The Loddiges family (not uncommonly mis-spelt Loddige) managed one of the most notable of the eighteenth and nineteenth century plant nurseries that traded in and introduced exotic plants, trees, shrubs, ferns, plams...