Death and Charity
Following Mary Abney's own death in 1750, at the age of 73, she was buried near her brother beneath the chancel of Old Stoke Newington Church (St Mary's Old Church), which overlooks today's Clissold Park.
The Manor of Stoke Newington, together with Abney House and Abney Park, were inherited by one of Lady Abney's daughters, Elizabeth Abney (c1704-1782), who managed the estate, along with another at Tilford in the parish of Farnham, Surrey. Elizabeth Abney died a spinster aged 78 on 20 August 1782 and in her will directed that her estates be sold and all proceeds be given to nonconformist charities.
Abney Park was much used by Newington Academy for Girls when that Quaker school was set up in 1824 in Fleetwood House, the immediate neighbour to Abney House. The opening of Abney Park Cemetery gave a new use to Lady Mary's landscaped grounds.
Read more about this topic: Mary Abney
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