Abney Park is going digital thanks to a £21,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to recover the details of the 200,000 people buried there.

The Abney Unearthed project will document the stories of the people buried at the Stoke Newington cemetery since it opened in 1840.

Volunteers will be brought in to research, map and learn about the lives of the dead to reflect the changes to the area since then. Some records became illegible or went missing after it fell into disrepair the 1970s.

Parks boss Cllr Feryal Demirci said: “Abney Park is a much loved green space and Abney Unearthed will engage volunteers to help us learn more about its fascinating history.

“This project will uncover some of the thousands of stories surrounding those buried at Abney Park and encourage more people to visit this hidden gem.”

The town hall wants to hear from people about the cemetery and a survey can be completed at hackney.gov.uk/abney-park. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact volunteering@abneypark.org.