Description
Quaker Gardens is a former Quaker Burial Ground established in 1672 by the Barking Meeting of the Society of Friends. Among those buried here was prison reformer Elizabeth Fry (d.1845). Her tombstone was moved to Wanstead Quaker Burial Ground where the Barking Meeting transferred in the late C19th. In 1980 the burial ground became a small public garden and all remaining headstones and monuments were then removed.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Friends' Burial Ground at Barking |
|---|---|
| Site location | North Street/Harts Lane, Barking, Essex |
| Postcode | IG11 |
| What3Words | ///skins.pushed.phones |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Barking & Dagenham |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | London Overground/Rail/Tube (Hammersmith & City, District): Barking. Bus: 287. |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2009 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The Barking Meeting of the Society of Friends, which was formed in the late 1650s, established the Quaker Burial Ground in 1672, which was the burial site of among others, the famous prison reformer and Quaker Minister, Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845). Her tombstone has since been moved to the Quaker Burial Ground in Wanstead (q.v. Wanstead Friends Burial Ground) where the Quaker Meeting had transferred by the 1870s. In the 1820s Fry spent holidays with her family in two cottages at Dagenham Breach.
In 1980 the burial ground site became a small public garden and all headstones and monuments were removed. Across North Street from the Burial Ground is the former Society of Friends Meeting House, converted from part of an old house purchased in 1673 but completely rebuilt in 1908 in Queen Anne style. The Barking Meeting House closed in 1924 and eventually the building was sold to the East London Sikh community and inaugurated as a Sikh Temple in 1971. A fragment of the C19th east, north and south brick walls of the burial ground survive, including on North Street the iron gate flanked by brick piers with the old Society of Friends Quaker Burial Ground sign. C20th railings border the fourth side. There is little evidence that it was a burial ground, since the majority of the site is turfed, with tarmac paths and some small trees including holly and ash on the perimeter beds. Apart from being mown the condition is poor with broken seats and litter bin, and a partially collapsed brick wall. Two signs have been erected: ‘Quaker Burial Garden - A Garden of peace and rest, please respect this historic site. No ball games'.
In 1980 the burial ground site became a small public garden and all headstones and monuments were removed. Across North Street from the Burial Ground is the former Society of Friends Meeting House, converted from part of an old house purchased in 1673 but completely rebuilt in 1908 in Queen Anne style. The Barking Meeting House closed in 1924 and eventually the building was sold to the East London Sikh community and inaugurated as a Sikh Temple in 1971. A fragment of the C19th east, north and south brick walls of the burial ground survive, including on North Street the iron gate flanked by brick piers with the old Society of Friends Quaker Burial Ground sign. C20th railings border the fourth side. There is little evidence that it was a burial ground, since the majority of the site is turfed, with tarmac paths and some small trees including holly and ash on the perimeter beds. Apart from being mown the condition is poor with broken seats and litter bin, and a partially collapsed brick wall. Two signs have been erected: ‘Quaker Burial Garden - A Garden of peace and rest, please respect this historic site. No ball games'.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ438845 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.172 |
| Site Ownership | LB Barking & Dagenham |
| Site Management | Parks & Countryside Ranger Service |
| Dates | 1672; 1980 |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Barking & Dagenham |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Protected Open Space |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
This is the site of Barking Abbey, which had been founded in 666 AD, restored by King Edgar in 970 AD, and eventually dissolved in 1539 by which time it was the greatest Benedictine nunnery in the country. In 1910 Barking Town UDC purchased the site to create an area for public recreation and during associated road works the Abbey foundations were discovered. The site was carefully excavated to reveal the ruined foundations. The Abbey Playing Field, incorporating the site of Barking Abbey, was opened as a public garden in 1913. There are plans for re-landscaping of the whole Abbey Green site including the Abbey Ruins, subject to full approvals in 2011.
The Abbey Playing Fields were first proposed in Barking Town UDC's 1943 Report on Post War Redevelopment to provide a 'worthy setting' for Barking Abbey and St Margaret's Church, to be achieved by acquiring and demolishing properties on the site. The plan proposed by Professor G. Peter Youngman was eventually approved in 1965 and the completed scheme based on his design included various areas created as 'a composite whole by the continuity of footpaths, the repetition of similar trees and structural elements and by a sequence of views, enclosed spaces and open spaces.' Central Area Open Space (North & South) was substantially complete by December 1974. In 2009 plans for improving the wider site as Abbey Green commenced, with design proposals by Lynch Architects in partnership with Kinnear Landscape due to commence in 2010.
St Margaret's Church was founded in 1215 within the precincts of Barking Abbey; it may have been a chapel prior to becoming the parish church in c1300. The churchyard has remains of ancient stone wall abutting the Abbey ruins, and its main entrance is through the C14th Curfew Tower. There are numerous interesting tombs, headstones and monuments as well as fine plane and lime trees.
