St Thomas’s Long Burial Ground
History
St. Thomas’s Long Burial Ground was the site of a burial ground for a Chapel-of-Ease. It belonged to the parish church of St. John-at-Hackney. The chapel was set up to serve South Hackney in 1810. The chapel was in use until they built St John of Jerusalem in 1848, and then they demolished the building, leaving only the burial ground.
The local people buried here included members of the Frampton family. They named the nearby 1960s Frampton Park Estate after them. The last burial here took place in 1876.
In 1884 the Bishop of London approved Hackney Board of Works’ proposal to turn the site into a garden. They agreed to:
- leave the principal tablestones in their present position
- plant evergreens round the site
- lower graves where necessary to remove all headstones and place them against the walls.
They laid the garden in 1885. In 1888, they constructed a passage to connect the garden with St. Thomas’s Recreation Ground. Railings enclose the oblong site. St. Thomas’s Place, constructed by Thomas Pearson between 1805 and 1807, looks over it to the west, and a council estate from the 1930s overlooks it to the east. The grassed area has many plane trees along either side with a central path lined with benches.
Barbecues
Barbecues are not allowed in St Thomas’s Long Burial Ground.
Dogs
You must keep your dog on a lead at all times. For more information, see Dogs in parks.