When we photographed the stone we did not notice the rectangular clearing around it but this Google Satellite image displays the space well. This clearing is, in our terminology, a 'ghost building', similar to the Roman Amphitheatre. See Ghost Buildings for more - we note that churches are the most popular buildings to be commemorated in this way.
Site: St Augustine's Church - Victoria Park (2 memorials)
E9, Victoria Park, near Brookfield Road entrance
When we first found this plaque-less stone we published it in May 2020 as a puzzle - what did it commemorate?
2021: We were contacted by Dennis Jenner who solved the mystery. He wrote: “The stone marks the site of St Augustine's Church, built in 1867, destroyed during World War 2. It had a plaque on it with a brief explanation but sometime in recent years the plaque has been stolen.”
Wikipedia gives "Following wartime bomb damage, the Church of St Augustine in nearby Victoria {Park} was closed in 1953 and its congregation merged with St Mary’s to form St Mary of Eton with St Augustine.
Dennis sent this Tower Hamlets audio which confirms the position of the church and also details how the Park was used (extensively) during WW2.
The stone is in a rectangular clearing, the space left by the removal of the church. The surrounding trees can be seen in the photograph of the church so they were not, as we first thought, planted to commemorate the church. The stone is placed at the position of the alter.
The nearby entrance to the park, almost opposite Brookfield Road, is known as St Augustine’s gate.
