Bunhill Fields Cemetery given grade I protected status

Published: 25th February, 2011
by PETER GRUNER

BUNHILL Fields Cemetery gardener Tommy Mannion became something of a radio and TV star this week after news broke that the burial ground is being given greater government protection.

“A lot of people didn’t realise just who we’ve got buried here,” he said. “We’ve got some of English literature’s greatest names. Suddenly we’re getting a lot of interest from film crews and visitors.”

Robinson Crusoe author Daniel Defoe and poet William Blake, who wrote the words of the hymn Jerusalem, are buried at the cemetery, off City Road, which has been given grade I protected status.

Also buried there is Pilgrim’s Progress author John Bunyan. 

The cemetery has now been entered by English Heritage on the national Register of Parks and Gardens. It means special consent must be given before changes are made to the site. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has separately listed 75 of its tombs. 

David Garrard, of English Heritage, said: “Bunhill Fields has long fascinated historians and romantics alike and is considered the terra sancta of English Nonconformity. 

“With its distinctive atmosphere and impressive monuments the cemetery offers solace and beauty in the middle of our busy city. 

“Few places nationally document religious history as vividly or with such poignancy as Bunhill Fields and we welcome the minister’s endorsement of our advice to list the 75 individual tombs.”