Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Bunhill Fields Burial Ground

London The Unfinished City
The grave of Daniel Defoe.

I had long wished to visit Bunhill Fields Burial Ground and Gardens, as, sometimes, these are often overlooked places that many find macabre. 

However, places like this offer a wonderfully peaceful place to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. 

Plus, there are always the graves of important people, mixed in with the ordinary, everyday tombstone. 

London The Unfinished City
Gravestones.

Bunhill Fields contains many graves, but some of the more famous are those of Daniel Defoe and William Blake, the latter of which is just a marker stating that he is buried close by. This is set to change, as his actual burial site has now been found, and a new gravestone will be unveiled, soon.


Brief History

The first burials took place, at Bunhill Fields, took place in 1665 and continued until 1854. Some 123,000 people are said to have been interred, here, although only 2,000 monuments remain. When it was opened Bunhill Fields covered some 11 acres, but now covers just 4 acres. Some of this space is open park, where you can sit beneath the surrounding trees, in relative peace and quiet.


Some of the more famous people to be buried here are Daniel Defoe (author of Robinson Crusoe), William Blake (artist and poet), John Bunyan (author of The Pilgrim's Progress), Thomas Fowell Burton (anti-slavery philanthropist) and Isaac Watts (poet and hymn-writer).

Bunhill Fields is Grade I listed and is maintained by the City of London Corporation.

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