Radical Writers: A Radical Remembering: Paupers' grave to honoured pioneer - Margaret Graham at Abney with Sharon Wright

The event on Thursday 9th October has been cancelled due to illness - this has been rescheduled to Wednesday, 22nd October.

Ticket includes a glass of Prosecco or orange juice to toast marvellous Mrs Graham!

Campaigning author and award-winning journalist Sharon Wright is a long-term collaborator of Abney Park Trust. Sharon and the Trust worked together in 2022 to raise funds to commission a memorial to trailblazing balloonist and Abney Park resident Margaret Graham, the first British woman to fly solo. Together we raised around £5,000 for the memorial, which now stands proudly in the park. Sharon is the author of The Lost History of the Lady Aeronauts, which reveals Mrs. Graham’s remarkable story. 

Margaret Graham became a famous aeronaut in her own right and built an impressive career as a professional pilot over more than three decades, from the late Georgian era through to the mid-Victorian period. Graham wrote dramatic accounts of her many adventures for the press and accused critics of judging her failures – including some spectacular crashes – more harshly than those of her male counterparts. An early mistress of “spin”, she – like other headstrong and media-savvy Abney residents – fostered a close relationship with the press, securing column inches for her side of the story when her ascents went awry. Yet despite a long and colourful career, Britain’s pre-eminent female aeronaut died impoverished aged 60 and was buried in an unmarked common grave within the cemetery – which is a famous Hackney urban woodland and nature reserve – in 1864.

Sharon says: “It took almost 160 years to get Mrs Graham a gravestone, but it’s never too late to celebrate women who make history.” Join Sharon for a talk and Q&A.

This event is part of Abney Park Trust's 2025 "Radical Writers" festival. The festival explores the works of writers inspired by Abney's and Hackney's diverse history of radical thought and action. We’ll be joined by scribes from across an array of genres, disciplines and backgrounds. And we’ll be thinking about radicalism in many senses – old, new, cultural, political, social and beyond. To see the full line up and book tickets for other events, visit abneypark.org/radicalwriters.