Qualla: Bunhill Fields https://qualla.com/bunhill-fields en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:14 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/bunhill-fields-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Bunhill Fields https://qualla.com/bunhill-fields Bunhill Fields: Introduction https://qualla.com/bunhill-fields/ Photo credit StAnselm, CC BY-SA 3.0. Daniel Defoe died in poverty in April 1731 and was buried in Bunhill Fields with a simple headstone. In the winter of 1857-58, lightning struck the grave and broke the headstone. In 1869, the editor of a children's newspaper launched an appeal for a replacement — his readers could donate sixpence each, and he kept separate lists for boys and for girls to encourage competition. About 1,700 subscriptions were received, raising roughly £200. A marble obelisk was commissioned. When the foundations were dug, the crowd rushed for the disturbed bones as souvenirs; the police had to be called. Defoe's three great-granddaughters attended the unveiling ceremony. The author of Robinson Crusoe had, in death, become an adventure story.

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Image: StAnselm | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/bunhill-fields-wp/gcpv-bunhill-fields-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Bunhill Fields: The Ground That Church Refused https://qualla.com/bunhill-fields/ Photo credit Edwardx, CC BY-SA 3.0. Bunhill Fields owes its existence to an act of religious exclusion. The land was prepared during the plague years of the 1660s as a potential emergency burial ground, but the Church of England never consecrated it. A Mr. Tindal took over the lease and allowed burials on the uncon...

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Image: Edwardx | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/bunhill-fields-wp/gcpv-bunhill-fields-the-ground-that-church-refused.mp3 0:06 2 full Bunhill Fields: Bunyan, Defoe, and Blake https://qualla.com/bunhill-fields/ Photo credit Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry, CC BY-SA 3.0. Three graves draw most visitors down the central broadwalk created during the 1964-65 landscaping. John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, died in August 1688 and was buried here; his monument was fully reconstructed in 1862 and now features a recumbent effigy with relief ...

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Image: Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/bunhill-fields-wp/gcpv-bunhill-fields-bunyan-defoe-and-blake.mp3 0:06 3 full Bunhill Fields: A Remarkable Assembly https://qualla.com/bunhill-fields/ Photo credit StAnselm, CC BY-SA 3.0. Beyond the three famous literary and artistic figures, Bunhill Fields contains an extraordinary concentration of people who shaped British religious, intellectual, and scientific history. Isaac Watts, who wrote 'Joy to the World' and 'When I Survey the Wondrous Cross' and is call...

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Image: StAnselm | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/bunhill-fields-wp/gcpv-bunhill-fields-a-remarkable-assembly.mp3 0:06 4 full Bunhill Fields: Saving the Ground https://qualla.com/bunhill-fields/ Photo credit Jwslubbock, CC BY-SA 4.0. After the burial ground closed in 1854, its future was uncertain. The City of London Corporation held the lease, which was expiring, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners controlled the freehold. If the lease expired without action, the commissioners would take possession and like...

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Image: Jwslubbock | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/bunhill-fields-wp/gcpv-bunhill-fields-saving-the-ground.mp3 0:06 5 full