any grave memorials display incised researching Mor three-dimensional objects, animals, symbols at plants or body parts and these have strong symbolic meanings. Angel The following are some of the most cemetery Guardian commonly encountered symbolic designs:

Celtic Cross Rose Ruined Temple Obelisk Upturned torch Torch Eternal life Innocence, good Perishability Egyptian – Eternal life Extinguished lifelight Life, Light

Rose Wheat Tree:Yew Flaming Urn Cloth draped Urn Book Innocence, good Harvest/Afterlife Sign of Life New life Greek/Roman – death Faith, Life do it Hands clasped information pack for Rocks Ivy Lantern Farewell, promise of Strength, Safety yourself Unfading memory Knowledge future meetings secondary schools On your visit to cemetery do some symbol spotting, maybe you can do a competition who bney Park Back to Life Abney Park in , , can spot the most symbols. was a project for young people formerly one of the ‘magnificent seven’ Maybe you can draw them or A garden cemeteries of London, is now a take pictures with your camera? age 13-26, that took place during woodland memorial park and important Anchor Lily Palm Heart Hope, Safety Purity Triumph over death Love, Devotion the school year 2010/2011. Local Nature Reserve. Twelve young people took on the The park originated in the eighteenth challenge to research the history century when the land was laid out by Lady of this amazing site to help create . With over two hundred years trust of heritage and more than 240 thousand South Lodge, Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington High St, London N16 0LH short films and site specific people buried in Abney Park, there is a lot of installations for a live audience. history to uncover! Why not to try it yourself? And here you can have a look on my research researching grave notes and pictures. the people buried at searching at abney park cemetery abney park cemetery. here are many ordinary and as a woman in this profession and As well as attending workshops Textraordinary people buried this era. as part of the project Bringing uncover your at Abney Park Cemetery (240 How was she viewed by men? Abney Park Back To Life! Maeve family’s history thousand people! that’s a lot!) How was she viewed by her own also used the internet, the Maeve took part in our project romantic partners? archives and made visits herself A ‘How To’ Guide to research the character. and she researched the music She died young and single and oday you might find that death is a taboo Maeve researched the following: hall star Nelly Powers. seems, from notes surrounding T subject, but the Victorians embraced the “I choose to create a piece about her death, to have suffered The Changing representation subject of death. Finding your Family’s History 1 Nelly Powers. She has her own considerable heartache because of of women, Love letter and can be fun, as you get to search for the graves of 2 grave which is unusual in this who she was. relationship research. relatives that lived before you and imagine how Victorian cemetery and was one I feel she used her ‘charming’ voice She watched and listened to a they lived. of the first female stars. to empower herself and to reach lot of footage of various Music • First it would be good to note down the names She was a rare amongst the “Lions out to the audience, perhaps for Hall performers,3 and looked up of all of your grandparents and find out which Comique” who were the ‘heart a brief moment being able to old lost music hall theatres,4 and different surnames have been in your family throbs’ of the and transcend the boundaries of gender found one in Stoke Newington!5 over the years. whose attitudes were distinctly and class and share a truth about She took a trip to Wilton’s Music • Once you have some names you can enter them laddish. I was inspired to explore human experience.” Hall to soak up the atmosphere.6 the complexities of her status into this fantastic ‘find a grave’ website to start looking for your relatives: www.findagrave.com Resource notes • Or if you know your family was from the Stoke 1 sites.google.com/site/womeninvictoriantheatre/music-hall-1 4 www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/LondonsLostTheatres.htm Newington area it might be best to go directly 2 www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/10feb2011aac.pdf 5 www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/AlexandraTheatreStokeNewington.htm to the Abney Park website or office where they have a searchable index of burials: 3 lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/o/ohmisterporter.shtml 6 www.wiltons.org.uk http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ www.barron.co.uk/Lilian+Lancaster ~abneypark/abneyy.html www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kwmeoi7DX4&feature=related www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-RpyLmIn3k • If you manage to find anything it’s best to do some more research on the Hackney Archives website: www2.hackney.gov.uk Or write to them at: Hackney Archives, 43 De Beauvoir Road, London N1 5SQ do it yourself • If you do manage to find some records of your relatives at Abney Park Cemetery the next step is 1 Choose a historical character buried at Abney 2 You could then make a to visit the Park’s office and use the maps there Park Cemetery from the list included in this performance or a short film to find the exact spot in the park that they are pack and research their story; you might want like we did or perhaps you’ll buried. to look on the internet or even visit Abney come up with new ideas to • The team in the office will help you with this Park Cemetery with your school to find out share your findings? and then will take you out into the park to hunt more, first hand! through the undergrowth and find the spot where the grave should be. Good luck!