Monument To James Hughes, East Enclosure

The monument is a late 19th-century obelisk dedicated to James Hughes, located within the East enclosure of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. It is constructed from red granite, with a sandstone plinth. The monument consists of a tall, square obelisk with a pedestal and base. The pedestal includes a Welsh-language inscription inset in bronze lettering. An oval bronze plaque on the shaft of the obelisk features a bas-relief portrait of Hughes.

James Hughes, also known as Iago Trichrug (1779-1844), was a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist minister, hymn-writer, and poet. Following an initial career as a blacksmith, he migrated to London in the early 19th century and served as a minister at the Wilderness Row Chapel in Clerkenwell before founding the Jewin Crescent Chapel, which continues to exist today, albeit in rebuilt premises. He wrote poetry, hymns, Bible commentaries, and translations, and participated in religious controversies. He was buried at Bunhill Fields in November 1844 and his monument was later renewed.

Bunhill Fields Burial Ground was first enclosed in 1665 and became a principal Nonconformist cemetery for London, the final resting place of figures such as John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, and William Blake. It was closed for burials in 1853, converted into a public park in 1867, and subsequently re-landscaped after war damage. The monument is designated at Grade II for its commemoration of an important figure in early 19th century Welsh religious life and literature and for its group value with other tombs in the East enclosure, particularly that of Hugh Pugh.