John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, and William Blake in Bunhill Fields, London

Bunhill Fields Burial Ground in the borough of Islington is between Bunhill Row to the west, Featherstone Street to the north, and City Road to the east, which is the entrance shown in the above photo. Pevsner called this 'the most celebrated Nonconformist burial ground in England', and it is certainly very unusual that the graves of three famous and major figures of literature can be found within such close proximity.

This monument to John Bunyan (1628–88) is from the 19th century.

'JOHN BUNYAN,

AUTHOR OF THE

PILGRIMS PROGRESS

OBT. 31ST AUGT. 1688,

ÆT. 60.'

An engraving of Pilgrim on the monument.

On the other side of the path, just several paces away, are two more monuments:

This obelisk marks the grave of Daniel Defoe.

'DANIEL DE-FOE.

BORN 1661,

DIED 1731,

AUTHOR OF

ROBINSON CRUSOE.'

'THIS MONUMENT IS THE RESULT OF AN APPEAL

IN THE "CHRISTIAN WORLD" NEWSPAPER

TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF ENGLAND, FOR FUNDS

TO PLACE A SUITABLE MEMORIAL UPON THE GRAVE

OF

DANIEL DE-FOE.

IT REPRESENTS THE UNITED CONTRIBUTIONS

OF SEVENTEEN HUNDRED PERSONS.

SEPR. 1870.'

And right next to Defoe's grave is this monument.

'NEAR BY LIE THE REMAINS OF

THE POET-PAINTER

WILLIAM BLAKE

1757 –– 1827

AND OF HIS WIFE

CATHERINE SOPHIA

1762 –– 1831'

Blake's grave is in fact about 60 feet away from this memorial stone: originally Blake's grave was unmarked, although in 1927, to commemorate the centenary of his death, this stone was placed over his grave. However, the stone was moved here in 1965 when the lawns were created. The Friends of William Blake are now petitioning for a stone to be erected over his grave, and the extremely detailed seven-page link below describes exactly where it is.

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How To Find William Blake's Grave