Group Of Nine Chest Tombs Including Tomb Of John Guyse, South Enclosure

Group of nine chest tombs in the South enclosure of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The tombs form a long row along the eastern boundary of the site, between the central pathway and the wall of the Honourable Artillery Company Ground. They are constructed from Portland stone, Pennant stone, sandstone and brick.

From north to south, the nine tombs are as follows:

Tomb 1 is a stone chest with brick plinth and corner pilasters. An inscription identifies it as the family vault of William Pyne (died 1804).

Tomb 2 is a stone chest on a raised plinth with fielded side and end panels. The inscription is illegible.

Tomb 3 is a stone chest with fielded side panels, a moulded Pennant stone lid and a small upright footstone. The inscription is illegible, but this is the burial place of the Independent minister John Guyse.

Tomb 4 is a stone chest with sandstone plinth and fielded side panels. Inscriptions commemorate Daniel Renney, described as 'late of the parish of St Leonard's, Shoreditch', and various members of the Bass family including William Francis (died 1795).

Tomb 5 is a stone chest with fielded side and end panels. The inscription is illegible.

Tomb 6 is a stone chest with corner balusters and a moulded Pennant stone lid. The inscription is illegible.

Tomb 7 is a stone chest with fielded side and end panels. The inscription is illegible.

Tomb 8 is a stone chest on a raised plinth with fielded side and end panels. The inscription is illegible.

Tomb 9 is a stone chest on a raised plinth with fluted corner pilasters and a high coped top. An inscription commemorates William Hale (died 1808) and various members of his family.

John Guyse (c.1677–1761) was baptised in St Albans and educated at Dissenting academies at Pinner and Saffron Walden. He began preaching at the age of 19 and became assistant minister at a chapel in Hertford before moving to London in 1727 to preside over a newly-formed congregation at New Broad Street. A conservative Calvinist, he published pamphlets attacking Arianism as well as sermons and biblical commentaries.

Bunhill Fields was first enclosed as a burial ground in 1665. Thanks to its location just outside the City boundary and its independence from any Established place of worship, it became London's principal Nonconformist cemetery and the burial place of John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, William Blake and other leading religious and intellectual figures. The burial ground 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.