Monument To Thomas Bayes And Family, Middle Enclosure

The monument is a late 18th-century chest tomb situated within the Middle Enclosure of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground. Constructed from Portland stone with a brick vault beneath, it commemorates Joseph Bayes and family members, most notably the mathematician and Presbyterian minister Thomas Bayes (1701?-1761). The monument’s design is simple, featuring a coped lid, fielded inscription panels on the sides, and a moulded base, all resting on a low brick and stone plinth. Thomas Bayes, born in Hertfordshire, studied at Edinburgh University and later assisted his father in Holborn and served as minister in Tunbridge Wells. He is primarily remembered for his posthumously published 'Essay towards solving a problem in the doctrine of chances' (1764), which laid the groundwork for the 'Bayesian' approach to probability theory and the famous 'Bayes' Theorem'. Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, first enclosed in 1665, served as a key burial site for London’s Nonconformist community and is the final resting place for notable figures such as John Bunyan and William Blake. The monument is designated at Grade II for its excellent preservation, its significance as the burial place of Thomas Bayes, and for its group value within the Grade I registered Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.