Abney Park Chapel, is a grade ii Listed chapel, situated in Europe's first wholly nondenominational cemetery, Abney Park Cemetery, London. Opened in may 1840, it was the first nondenominational cemetery chapel in Europe and pioneered a new interest in the blending of building styles. It reflected the work of a design team consisting of George Collison II (representing the client), William Hosking (architect), and George Loddiges (landscape designer, primarily concerned with the setting of the chapel setting).   Abney Park Cemetery—every turn of the path reveals a new and unique landscape (September 2005). ... Ancestors of The Rev. ... The Royal Academy where William Hosking exhibited in the 1820s William Hosking FSA (November 26, 1800 - August 2, 1861) was a writer, lecturer, and architect who had an important influence on the growth and development of London in Victorian times. ... 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...

Location and Orientation

The first matter to resolve was the question of what the first non-denominational chapel for a European cemetery should look like; and, related to this - where would it be most appropriately located within the park, how should it be aligned in the landscape, and which direction should it face ? William Hosking, in discussion with George Collison II agreed that the novel chapel would be at the very heart of Abney Park, foregoing a position close to the main entrance, and would only gradually be revealed as one approached through the landscape setting, using a sinuously designed 'Chapel Walk' that would double up as a carrige drive. By this thoughtful approach, the main entrance -which boasted a radical architectural style and uniquely expansive set-piece frontage design - would not be eclipsed. Ancestors of The Rev. ... Abney Park Cemetery—every turn of the path reveals a new and unique landscape (September 2005). ...

Nonetheless, the chapel was not to be 'hidden' away in the centre of the estate. Collison sought a prominent and unapologetic landmark that could be seen from a good distance beyond the cemetery. To achieve this, whilst not being concpicuous at the main entrance ensemble, considerable height was required. This was best suited to a steeple, but it would need to be much higher than any other in the vicinity, surpassing that of the local parish church.

Hosking and Collison's Imposing chapel at Abney Park: notable as the first nondenominational Cemetery Chapel in Europe. Unfortunately, ivy obscured the ornate south facade of the Abney Park Chapel ('Dr Watts' Chapel') by the date of this photograph (Edwardian times) and repairs to the steeple led to a loss of its banding and some other simplification

  Image File history File links Hosking_chapel1. ... Image File history File links Hosking_chapel1. ...

The Blending of Styles

To celebrate its unique message of religious harmony, the chapel was to be a blend of conventional and unique characteristics. William Hosking drafted and redrafted an increasingly elegant solution to this design problem, his earliest designs being rather too costly for his clients purse. It was eventually settled that, as at Mount Auburn, the chapel would essentially follow gothic revivalist architecture, thereby offering a 'high church' note as a counterpoise to what critics might claim to be the somewhat 'unchristian' style of the entranceway (Egyptian revival). In this way the chapel was to contribute balance to the cemetery's philosophy of nondenominational harmony and reflect the ecumenical leanings of Isaac Watts who had lived at the parkland estate a century before.   The gothic revivalist character was to be partially downplayed, however, and mixed with other styles; for whilst the gothic style would predominate, if carefully adapted, the building itself would accommodate more than one tradition through its design approach. To help achieve thi, a 'low gothic revivalist' style, stock brick rather than traditional stone was used for much of the exterior, introducing a visual quality similar to the Brick Gothic style of Baltic countries, Sweden, Estonia etc. Moreover, neo-classical features (i.e. semi-circular arches) were carefully composited into the horse carriage entrance (porte cochere).   The concept of introducing classical elements into a gothic design had previously used in England only on rare occasions, such as for the Little Castle at Bolsover in Derbyshire, built after the Reformation, from 1612. It symbolised a connection with Romanesque-Gothic religious buildings of continental Europe, such as the monastic basilica of St. Procopius, Trebic, Czech Republic, where Jewish and Christian cultures co-existed; now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   Hosking's search for a thoughtful and appropriate design for the three rose windows of the chapel, may also have been influenced partly by the St. Procopius basilica which incorporates a rare example of the use of a simple, ten-part rose window. All wild rose flowers exhibit multiples of five petals and five sepals; and a lime, orange or lemon which belong to the Roseaceae family will also normally show ten fruit segments, as can be seen if cut in half. The adoption of this rare type of rose window - a botanical rose window - is likely to have been due to the presence of the horticulturalist and scientist George Loddiges on the design team. He saw the hand of the Creator in the beautiful natural designs of botanical species and varieties; his famous 'Botanical Cabinet' having taken a much more religious view of botany than competitor's illustrated works of the period, in which new plants were introduce to the reading public, such as Curtis' 'Botanical Magazine'. Near to the rose windows and chapel George Loddiges laid out a rosarium to highlight the attraction of this group. George Collison's ancestral town was Beverley in Yorkshire, and he would no doubt have been familiar with the widespread use of the White Rose of York as a symbol and perhaps have seen it reproduced in the ten-part rose windows of Beverley Minster, which as at St. Procopius, reflect the Creator's wishes. Ultimately the rare rose windows at the Abney Park Chapel provided a strong symbolic link between the chapel and the grounds with their rosarium and arboretum, besides offering the beauty of simplicity and a compliment to the Creator; a design of considerable thoughtfulness as came to typify William Hosking's learned and historical approach to architecture.   For the pointed gothic windows, grouped in threes, no tracery was used, also representing careful thinking about simplicity of design. For the steeple, William Hosking drew on the fourteenth century Bloxham church in Oxfordshire for design inspiration. Its steeple, the tallest in the county, is octagonal in cross-section and gains additional elevation from a raised octaganal base with a decorated rim; and the spire itself is of graceful, elegant simplicity unlike more ornate gothic steeples with buttresses and decorative crockets. These low Gothic characteristics suited Hosking's purpose well, though he added a flourish of colour banding to the steeple - a Victorian fashion. Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery Hunnewell family obelisk Civil War memorial Founded in 1831 as Americas first garden cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery is an Elysium where, traditionally, chaste classical monuments were set in rolling landscaped terrain. ... Isaac Watts. ... Holstentor in Lübeck - background left , right St. ... Derbyshire (pronounced Dar-bee-shur) is a county in the East Midlands of England, which boasts some of Englands most attractive scenery. ... Třebíč is a city in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic with a populate of approximately 40,000. ... Site #86: Memphis and its Necropolis, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt). ... 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... 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... Arms of Beverley For other uses, see Beverley (disambiguation). ... The White Yorkshire rose. ... The White Rose of York (Rosa alba) is the symbol of the House of York and latterly of Yorkshire. ... The West front of Beverley Minster. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in south-east England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ...

The final result was a chapel, complete with its unornamented yellow stock brick walls, a tall, eye-catching yet gracefully simple steeple, and simple botanically accurate rose windows, created a dramatic but tasteful and purposeful piece; one that epitomised its low gothic nondenominational function well, whilst establishing Abney Park as a local landmark visible from the thoroughfares of Church Street and the High Street, and from Woodberry Downs in the middle distance.  

Hosking and Collison's inclusion of a semi-circular classical arch in an otherwise gothic building helped symbolise the nondenominational concept of the cemetery - that it was open to all (photo: Sept. 2005).

 ==The Single Cell Layout== Perfecting the chapel had necessitated a long process of interation and re-design to meet the wishes of the Cemetery Directors for a new nondenominational style. William Hosking mastered the brief admirably, providing them with a chapel building that achieved the company's objective remarkably well, both in its choice of materials and style of design. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 742 KB) Summary My own photograph taken summer 2005 at Abney park Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 742 KB) Summary My own photograph taken summer 2005 at Abney park Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

However, of equal significance was its layout in plan section; for the chapel comprised just a single internal chamber that would be available to all, regardless of denomination; marking the chapel out in a practical, functional sense, in addition to its external appearance, as the first nondenominational cemetery chapel in Europe. Moreover, its cruciform plan adopted equal arms as in a Greek cross, giving conceptual strength to this concept of equality before God, through its design approach. At a time when cemeteries had to have separate denominational chapels or at best, a double-cell arrangement, Hosking's chapel was entirely unique to European cemetery design.

The Axial Vista in memory of Isaac Watts

That the eventual design for the chapel avoided the temptation towards eclectic over-adornment sometimes associated with excesses of romantic mediaevalism, for which the derogatory term Gothick can be used. By satisfying the Abney Park Cemetery Company Directors' preference for a low gothic style, William Hosking helped focus visual attention on the chapel's one elaborately designed elevation - the crenelated and decorated south elevation. This facade, complete with twin octagonal stair turrets leading to a viewing platform above an oogee arch with trefoil panels and quatrafoil, created an almost theatrical backdrop to the south chapel lawn. As such it almost 'spoke' to the vista to which it was conspicuously aligned - a new axial walk in Dr. Watts' memory being laid out due south. Thus the chapel would be aligned with Dr Watts' and Lady Mary Abney's former place of residence - Abney House, Church Street.   Orienting the chapel this way proved problematic to engravers who took artistic licence to illustrate Abney Park Chapel as if it were aligned perfectly inbetween the main entrance pillars ! However, its purposeful 'turning away' from the commercial entrance to enable its most elegant facade to face a planned vista and walk in memory of Dr. Watts, was important to capture the spirit of the park. It symbolised the Abney Park Cemetery Company's deliberate land assembly of the Fleetwood House and Abney House grounds to conserve it for dedication to the life of Dr Watts, and in memory of his benefactor Lady Mary Abney. The cemetery company ensured that its official engraver, George Childs, issued a perspective of Abney Park Chapel ('Dr Watts' Chapel') along the axial vista of what was to be laid out as Dr Watts' Walk. This was distributed free to all shareholders.  

The dramatically soaring Abney Park Chapel ('Dr Watts' Chapel') sadly derelict and beloved of local Goths (photo: Sept. 2005).

Dr Watts was an important figure for the cemetery founders. During his life but more so after his death, he had become associated with the nondenominational concept now being espoused by the cemetery company. Although Dr Watts had been a lifelong religious Independent, he had been honoured in death by a memorial in the Anglican Westminster Abbey, and his hymns and scholarly teachings had become widely favoured by moderates of many denominations. Where better, when Edward Hodges Baily RA FRS was commissioned a few years later to design London's only public statue to the life of Dr. Isaac Watts, than to situate it in Dr Watts' Walk infront of the Abney Park Chapel ?   Image File history File links Download high resolution version (640x853, 138 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Abney Park Cemetery ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (640x853, 138 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Abney Park Cemetery ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... Edward Hodges Baily (March 10, 1788 - May 22, 1867) was a British sculptor who was born in Bristol. ...

Support and Controversy for the New Approach

Endorsement of Hosking's place in architectural history along with the all important guiding hand of his client George Collison, came once the final design was agreed. The foundation stone was laid by noneother than the Right Hon. Sir Chapman Marshall, Knt., Lord Mayor of the City of London in the presence of the Sheriffs of the City and County. Indeed, the City. Arms of the City of London as shown on Blackfriars station. ... Arms of the City of London as shown on Blackfriars station. ...

Though the purpose of Hosking's masterly orientation and design received considerable praise, there remained some for whom the completed chapel, not being adherent to strict, or particular, gothic principles, was deemed to be of 'poor design' and 'pretentious'. Hosking's criticics emanated principally from groups such as the Cambridge 'Ecclesiologists' who were pursuing an Anglican revivalist agenda and favoured one particular stylistic approach, even within the Gothic tradition. The balanced design worked as planned however, the cemetery attracting Dissenters and Anglicans in roughly equal numbers initially, before it became especially populat with the former. Moreover, in later years other architects, notably George Gilbert Scott also went beyond merely copying the past, and began to produce designs in their own personal manner, creating buildings that sometimes mixed elments of the English Gothic style with features other countries and periods; indeed Scott believed a new genre would develop from such an approach.   Counterbalancing the critics were other 'arbiters of taste' who concluded that Hosking's cemetery design worked exceptionally well, notably John Loudon. Loudon had been critical of the catacombs at Kensal Green as 'bad taste', and had also found the 'pleasure-ground style' at Norwood cemetery objectionable; yet offered only praise for the new principles of cemetery layout, mangement and design at Abney Park. And John Britton, who had co-authored one of Pugin's books promoting gothic revival architecture, was soon to work in partnership with William Hosking to devise a restoration scheme in Bristol for an Anglican church. The chapel of St Johns College, Cambridge is characteristic of Scotts many church designs Sir George Gilbert Scott (July 13, 1811 – March 27, 1878) was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses. ... West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood, Lambeth, London. ... Abney Park Cemetery—every turn of the path reveals a new and unique landscape (September 2005). ...

The Chapel Today

Today Hosking's novel chapel continues to merit acclaim as an outstandingly attractive architectural set piece, quite unique amongst the Magnificent SevenLondon garden cemeteries of the time and indeed throughout Europe. The Magnificent Seven are seven cemeteries used by the citizens of nineteenth century London. ...