Inventory Site Record

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.

Previous / Other name:

Friends' Burial Ground at Barking

Site location:

North Street/Harts Lane, Barking, Essex

Postcode:

IG11

What 3 Words:

skins.pushed.phones

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Barking & Dagenham

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

London Overground/Rail/Tube (Hammersmith & City, District): Barking. Bus: 287.

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Research updated:

01/04/2009

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk

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’.

Sources consulted:

James Howson 'A Brief History of Barking & Dagenham' (LBBD Libraries Dept, 6th ed 1990); Sue Curtis, 'Barking: A History' (Phillimore, 2006)

Grid ref:

TQ438845 (543962,184376)

Size in hectares:

0.172

Site ownership:

LB Barking & Dagenham

Site management:

Parks & Countryside Ranger Service

Date(s):

1672; 1980

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

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 Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

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