Monument To Edward Pickard, South Enclosure

The monument is a late 18th or early 19th century headstone located within the South Enclosure of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. Bunhill Fields was first enclosed as a burial ground in 1665 and became London's principal Nonconformist cemetery due to its location outside the City boundary and independence from the Church of England. The monument is constructed from Portland stone and takes the form of a tall upright slab with a shaped top. The east face is inscribed with a commemoration of Edward Pickard’s “distinguished fidelity usefulness and acceptance” as minister to the Carter Lane congregation, and records the burials of his first and second wives, Sarah (died 1765) and Frances (died 1773), his son Edward (died 1825), and his daughter-in-law Eleanor Martha (died 1833). The west face lists the names of various members of the Warren family. Edward Pickard (1714-78) was educated at dissenting academies and later initiated a petition to Parliament that resulted in the 1779 amendment to the Toleration Act, which eased doctrinal restrictions on Nonconformist clergy. The monument is designated at Grade II for its significance in commemorating a leading Presbyterian minister and for its group value with other listed tombs within the Grade I registered Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.