Sunday 1 September 2013

UPDATE ON THIS POST - London for the afternoon with a great friend ..


 
A few days before I was due to go to Paris (in July)
 , I went to stay with my mother -in-law in North London,
I love going there and now it is extra special
as my lovely friend Jennifer has moved from Paris to London
to be with her boyfriend  ..SOON TO BE HUSBAND .. Peter.
And only three Metro stops from my mum-in-law which is super for all of us.

 
We went to Stoke Newington , which is new to me, I was able to see
where they were getting married ..:-) :-) .. also have a look around the
up and coming area.
 
So our first stop was ..a Cemetery.
We walk round them in Paris so why not London .. ??


UPDATE from Jennifer

Hi Anne, just to let you know that Marc Bolan of TRex fame was born in Stoke Newington. Elton John used to hang out on Church St and played in a pub on the river Lee. If you go to the library on Church St, you will see the gravestone of Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe. There is a Daniel Defoe society and apparently Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are members. Queen Elizabeth the 1st used to visit the small ancient church near the entrance to Clissold Park on Church St. By the way, the cemetery is tastefully scruffy, that's the way Stokies like it! The reason it's not trimmed down is the wildlife and it is National Trust protected. There are woodpeckers, jays and sparrow-hawks.

Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts,  and the Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, a semi-public park arboretum, and an educational institute, which was widely celebrated as an example of its time. Abney Park is one of the Magnificent Seven London cemeteries. ]It is also a Local Nature Reserve.

 
Given how important this place is I think the Hackney council need to step up and help preserve it!  After all this is one of Britain's historic park and garden . Unfortunately as is mostly the case in England the roof slates and roof flashings of the Abney Park Chapel have been damaged by unauthorised climbing and theft at times when the park was left unsupervised and unlocked overnight, and this has resulted in water seepage into the chapel walls which is now causing serious problems to the whole building, which on our visit was derelict.
The Chapel ..
which is waiting for restorations and brought back to life and
to be used by the trust and open to the public.
 

 
Statues we saw on our walk round,
 it was also quite eerie!!
 





 

William Frederick Tyler, Police Constable 403 of 'N' Division,
Metropolitan Police Service, fallen while bravely serving
the community on the 23rd January 1909.
 
Killed age 31 in the Tottenham Outrage
which took place 23 of January 1909.
 
One winter Saturday morning two armed Russian/Latvian anarchists, Paul Hefeld and Jacob Lepidus, attempted to seize the wages’ cash (£80) being delivered to the Schnurmann Rubber Factory in Chestnut Road, Tottenham.  If you would like to know more please click on the link above..





 
Wood carving in one of the tree trunks.

 
We also came across these men !!
 
Of course we were both curious !!



 
They were filming for a trailer for a film called
 
The Vampire ..
 
You can see the black guy in the photo ,
before this , they were standing somewhere else,
and when we walked up (Jennifer was behind me)
he turned to talk to me , I jumped a mile , he had
RED eyes and fangs in (and he has huge muscles) yikes.... Spooky..


 
At last I have managed to get this done , little bit more to come.
Hope you have enjoyed this little bit of history. I have linked up
so you can follow more if interested.
 
♥♥♥♥♥
 


19 comments:

  1. What an interesting place Anne. Nothing wrong with exploring a cemetery. Here's hoping they do manage to do some restoration work :-)

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    1. Very interesting Cathy ,especially all the statues around. As you say nothing wrong with exploring it was fun. I hope they manage to get the church up and running for use too. xox

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  2. Looks like fun! And the cemetery looks very cool. Be sure to tell Jennifer I said 'Hi'!

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    1. Hi Paul , It was fun but spooky , all overgrown but had fascinating statues, would of taken a while to see them all and maybe get lost on the way LOL ,, Of course I will say Hi to Jennifer for you . Going to see her soon :-)

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  3. A fascinating post Anne, thanks.

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    1. Thanks Linda , always try to please my readers :-) take care xo

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  4. Hi Anne. Sometimes grAveyards can be very interesting places. Interesting facts today and good shots , as always. I liked the wood carving and the polixeman's helmet monument. That vampire must have been a shock. Not what you would expect to see!

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    1. Absolutely agree with you , it was very interesting. Glad I could find info on the policeman who died too. Oh yes he turned to me and I jumped , definitely what you expect on a walk ,

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  5. What an interesting post. Glad that Jennifer has moved to London, another good excuse to visit and someone to look around with. Love that carving in the tree. I would have probably died of a heart attack if I had discovered a vampire in a cemetery!! Keep well Diane xx

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    1. Thanks Diane , something different from Churches and shops :-) . Oh yes so great that Jennifer has moved to London ,easier for us to meet up and yes yet another excuse! He certainly made me jump lol ,, Keep well too Anne xox

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  6. I think one of those 7 cemeteries is Brookwood near Woking in Surrey, it is an amazing place. And even I would be freaked if a vampire suddenly turned up behind me in a place like that!

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    1. Hi Nicki , thank you for calling in again , great to see. Actually Brookwood is not on the 7 cemeteries list as it is not in London .. So maybe there is another list of amazing cemeteries. Well I don't think they expected us there or at least for us to go up to them LOL ,, was freaky with his Red eyes,

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  7. Hi Anne,
    FANTASTIC!! You told me about the film crew and going through the cemetery; there they are!
    I love old cemeteries ans could wander for hours, reading the inscriptions on the gravestones and enjoying the quiet.
    It does not spook me at all :).
    Great walk; we will have to do one like this in the future.
    xox

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    1. Hi Barbara , yes I| remember telling you about the film crew, well yes there they are :-) and I think one we will definitely have to do :-) you would love it , xx

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  8. Oh gosh! Yes I loved this bit of history. I do enjoy visiting cemeteries but out here in the wild west they aren't as fascinating as in the eastern parts of Canada (which are older) or in Europe. No statues or ornate gravesites here. Glad you had a great time.

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    1. Leslie you would love it then , as it is so old and with lots of history. It is also a nature reserve too, so that is why it looks wild . take care xox

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  9. This reminds me of the film 'Before Sunset' with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy...

    I would be spooked for days if that actor playing the vampire talks to me and in his character.

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  10. Great Pics Anne! Looking forward to your next post about Stokey :)

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  11. Really cool pics Anne! Looking forward to reading your next post about Stokey!! x

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Thank you to everyone for commenting, it certainly makes my day. A pleasure to see everyone of you. Old and New.. Blogging not only opens up the world but gives us new friends.