Monument To Joseph Watts, Middle Enclosure

The monument to Joseph Watts is an early 19th-century chest tomb located in the middle enclosure of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. It is made of Portland stone and features inset slate panels. The tomb is designed as a stone chest resting on a flat stone base, with detached corner columns and a moulded lid. Each of the four sides of the tomb has a darker stone panel; the side panels include inscriptions commemorating Joseph Watts, who died in 1836, along with other family members, while the short ends display armorial bearings carved in relief.

Bunhill Fields was established as a burial ground in 1665 and became a significant Nonconformist cemetery due to its location just outside the City boundary and its independence from established churches. Notable figures such as John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, and William Blake are buried here. The cemetery was closed for burials in 1853, transformed into a public park in 1867, and underwent re-landscaping after war damage in 1964-1965.

The Watts family monument is recognized for its well-preserved condition, clear inscriptions, and high-quality relief carving, and it holds group value with other listed tombs in the middle enclosure of the Grade I registered Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.