History | Surrounding
area | Biodiversity |
Tours | Burial records
| Further information
Bunhill Fields is a former Dissenters' burial ground of four
hectares, bounded by City Road to the east and Bunhill Row to the
west. Today the area is an oasis of calm and greenery, which has
been managed as a public open space by the City of London since
1867.
It is the last resting place for an estimated 120,000 bodies,
including three of Britain's most eminent Nonconformists - William
Blake, John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe.
Download map of Bunhill Fields and the
graves (886kb)
Many of the graves are packed closely together, giving an idea
of how London's burial places looked before large cemeteries
further from the centre of London opened from the 1830s
onwards.
Bunhill today is a popular lunchtime spot for office workers
wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the surrounding
City.
Opening hours
Open October to March on Weekdays from 7.30am to 4.00pm,
Weekends and Bank Holidays from 9.30am to 4.00pm
Open April to September on Weekdays from 7.30am to 7.00pm Weekends
and Bank Holidays from 9.30am to 7.00pm
History of Bunhill
Fields
The site has a long history as a
burial ground, but is most significant for its Nonconformist
connections, dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries,
and the burial of prominent people including William Blake,
Daniel Defoe, John Bunyan and Susannah Wesley. The historic
significance of the burial ground is recognised by its
designation as a Grade II Listed Building as part of the
Bunhill Fields Burial Ground and Finsbury Square Conservation
Area.
The current layout of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground dates was
developed in two main phases. The first of these was in the 1860s,
when the City of London improved the site: laying out paths,
undertaking tree planting and carrying out work to the tombs
including re-cutting and recording inscriptions. In the 1960s
another layer was added to the site with a sensitively designed
public garden by one of the foremost landscape architects of the
period, Peter Shepheard. The southern area remained dominated by
the memorials, fenced off from public access by metal railings,
while to the north a new open lawn enclosed by shrub planting was
created to complement the memorial landscape. The burial ground now
contains 2,333 monuments, mostly simple headstones (of which there
are 1,920) arranged in a grid formation.
Surrounding area
Nearby Bunhill Fields Burial Ground are two other Nonconformist
sites:
Wesley Chapel
Wesley’s Chapel is sited opposite to the burial ground across
the City Road to the east. The chapel was built by John Wesley as
his base in London in 1778 and is known as ‘the cathedral of world
Methodism’. Part of the site is Wesley’s House, the Museum of
Methodism and, to the rear, a small burial ground which is the site
of John Wesley’s tomb. Other members of his family are buried at
Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. Wesley’s Chapel has an active
programme of services, as well as around 10,000 visitors a year and
is a key site for Methodists world-wide.
Further information about Wesley’s Chapel
Quaker Gardens
To the west of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, off Bunhill Row
lies Banner Street, where another important Nonconformist site and
small public open space is located. This is the Bunhill Fields
Meeting House and the Quaker Gardens. The gardens are a small
fragment of a Quaker burial ground (which was also known as Bunhill
Fields Burial Ground) and which was the first freehold property
owned by Quakers, bought in 1661 and used until 1855 for 12,000
burials. George Fox, Edward Burrough and John Bellers were buried
there and many people interested in Quakerism still visit the site
from all over the world for this reason.
Further information regarding the Quakers
Biodiversity
Bunhill Fields Burial Ground provides a valuable oasis of
greenery in a highly urban area. It contains grassland and
shrubbery along with fine mature trees which harbour birds and
bats. Its value for biodiversity is indicated by its designation as
a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation.
The graveyard is well stocked with around 130 trees including,
London plane Platanus x hispanica trees, oaks and limes,
together with a golden-barked ash, a black mulberry and a
June-flowering winter bark tree, Drymis winteri, from
South America. The dominant pattern of tree planting began in the
1870s when the burial ground was laid out with avenues of plane
trees. The trees provide cover for birds including great tit, blue
tit, wren, robin and feral and wood pigeons. It is of note that a
pair of spotted flycatchers (a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority
species) is also reported as breeding on site.
The ground flora, patchy shaded and regularly mown grass cover,
is comprised of annual meadow grass Poa annua, greater
plantain Plantago major, perennial rye-grass Lolium
perenne and common chickweed Stellaria media, with
locally abundant spring beauty Claytonia perfoliata,
dandelion Taraxicum officinale, white clover Trifolium
repens, selfheal Prunella vulagaris and procumbent
yellow-sorrel Oxalis corniculata.
During the spring, swathes of crocuses surround the bases of the
trees on the north lawn, while in the grass surrounding the graves
to the south can be found snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and
hyacinths
The memorials, together with the shade provided by the tree
cover, provide suitable habitat and micro-climate conditions for
lichens, bryophytes and ferns.
Guided tours
The City Guides conduct guided walks around Bunhill Fields
Burial Ground on Wednesdays throughout June and July from 12.30pm.
For more information please view the poster below or
email the City
Guides.
Download the City Guides
poster (140kb)
Burial records
For information regarding burial records, please contact the
Guildhall Library or visit the Burial Ground itself.
The Public Records Office contains records of burials at Bunhill
from 1713 to 1854. Guildhall Library houses other Bunhill material,
including interment order books for 1789-1854 and a record of the
inscriptions on the monuments as they were in 1869.
Guildhall Library web pages
Public Records Office website
Further information
For a leaflet or further information on Bunhill Fields Burial
Ground, please telephone the City Gardens office on 020 7374 4127
or download from the link below.
Download the Bunhill Fields Burial Ground
leaflet (496kb)
If you would like to view a grave in one of the enclosed areas,
please feel free to approach the site attendant or telephone the
City Gardens Office on 020 7374 4127 to arrange an appointment.
If you are interested in finding out more about the work of William
Blake, visit the Tate's William Blake Online.