Monument To Mary Benson And Adjoining Headstone, West Enclosure

The monument to Mary Benson and an adjoining headstone are located in the west enclosure of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground and date from the mid-18th century. Both are made of Portland stone.

The monument to Mary Benson features an upright slab with a scrolled and pedimented top. Beneath this, there are low relief carvings of a scroll, crossed bones, and a winged skull. A worn inscription panel below provides details of Mary Benson's life, noting her death in 1739.

To the south is a taller and more elaborate headstone, which has a scrolled segmental top adorned with an hourglass, three skulls, and various bones carved in high relief. Below this, two pilasters shaped like caryatids frame a bowed panel, although its inscription is now almost completely illegible.

Bunhill Fields was enclosed as a burial ground in 1665 and became London's main Nonconformist cemetery, housing the remains of notable figures such as John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, and William Blake. It was closed for burials in 1853, transformed into a public park in 1867, and underwent re-landscaping after war damage in 1964-1965.

The monument to Mary Benson and the adjoining headstone are recognized for their ornate and well-preserved Baroque tomb sculpture from the early 18th century, and they hold group value within the Grade I registered Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.