Bunhill Fields

Bunhill Fields

Monuments in Bunhill Fields burial ground
Details
Established	1665
Location	London Borough of Islington
Country	England
Type	Public (closed)
Owned by	City of London Corporation
Size	1.6 hectares (4.0 acres)
No. of graves	120,000

Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in the London Borough of Islington, north of the City of London, now managed as a public garden by the City of London Corporation. It is about 1.6 hectares (4.0 acres) in extent, although historically it was much larger.

It was in use as a burial ground from 1665 until 1854, by which date approximately 123,000 interments were estimated to have taken place. Over 2,000 monuments remain. It was particularly favoured by Nonconformists, and contains the graves of many notable people, including John Bunyan (died 1688), author of The Pilgrim's Progress; Daniel Defoe (died 1731), author of Robinson Crusoe; William Blake (died 1827), artist, poet, and mystic; Susanna Wesley (died 1742), known as the "Mother of Methodism" through her education of sons John and Charles; Thomas Bayes (died 1761), statistician and philosopher; and Isaac Watts (died 1748), the "Father of English Hymnody".

Nearby was a separate Quaker burial ground, sometimes also known by the name Bunhill Fields, which was in use from 1661 to 1855. George Fox (died 1691), one of the founders of the Quaker movement, was among those buried here. Its remains are also now a public garden, Quaker Gardens, managed by the London Borough of Islington.

Bunhill Fields was part of the Manor of Finsbury (originally Fensbury), which has its origins as the prebend of Halliwell and Finsbury, belonging to St Paul's Cathedral and established in 1104. In 1315 the prebendary manor was granted by Robert Baldock to the Mayor and commonalty of London. This act enabled more general public access to a large area of fen or moor stretching from the City of London's boundary (London Wall), to the village of Hoxton.