Monument To Manoah And Sarah Sibly, South Enclosure

Monument to Manoah and Sarah Sibly, South Enclosure, Bunhill Fields Burial Ground

This early 19th-century headstone, constructed from Portland stone, commemorates Reverend Manoah Sibly and his wife Sarah. It takes the form of an upright slab with a shaped top, accompanied by a small shaped footstone. The monument is inscribed on both sides.

The eastern face bears an inscription that, though partially eroded, originally read: "Sacred to the memory of the Revd Manoah Sibly, who for 52 years faithfully, ably, and zealously preached the doctrines and truths of the New Church signified by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation, from her commencement in the year 1788, and rejoined his beloved conjugal partner in a glorious and beloved state of immortality on the 16th of December in the 84th year of his age." The western face reads: "Sacred to the memory of Mrs Sarah Sibly, conjugal partner of the Revd Manoah Sibly, minister of the New Church signified by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation, who [died] the 31st Oct 1829."

Manoah Sibly (1757–1840) was born into an artisan family in Bristol and moved to London as a young man. He worked as a bookseller, stenographer, and later at the Bank of England, where he rose to become head of the chancery office. In 1780 he married Sarah Lack; their marriage lasted forty-nine years and was notably happy. A self-taught scholar fluent in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, Sibly developed a passionate interest in the esoteric arts. He produced translations of two astrological works by Placidus de Titis and distributed occult texts published by his brother, Ebenezer Sibly, a Freemason and astrologer. In 1787 he became converted to the teachings of the Swedish mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg. Ordained as a Swedenborgian minister in 1790, he served at various London meeting houses before establishing his own chapel in Blackfriars in 1803.

Bunhill Fields was first enclosed as a burial ground in 1665 and became London's principal Nonconformist cemetery, located just outside the City boundary and independent of any Established place of worship. The burial ground received many leading religious and intellectual figures, including John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, and William Blake. It was closed for burials in 1853, laid out as a public park in 1867, and re-landscaped following war damage by Bridgewater and Shepheard in 1964–5.

The monument is listed at Grade II in recognition of its commemoration of a noted Swedenborgian minister and occultist whose highly unorthodox convictions, openly advertised on the monument, bear witness to the diversity of belief among those buried at Bunhill Fields. It has group value with the other listed tombs in the south enclosure and sits within the Grade I registered Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.