Most cemeteries are sad. Bunhill Fields is funny. It’s the resting place for Nonconformists—people who said “no thanks” to the Church of England.
These were the rebels, the weirdos, the writers who got banned. Blake was a mystic. Defoe was a spy. Bunyan went to jail for preaching. This is the graveyard for badasses.
One guy, George Fox, started the Quakers. His grave is a simple slab. It’s the most understated monument in London. He’d probably love that.
The “Don’t Step on the Grass” Irony
Here’s the punchline: Bunhill Fields is now a public park. You can sit on a bench and eat a sandwich over a poet’s head. No one cares.
But you can’t walk on the grass. Seriously. There are signs. So you’re staring at Blake’s gravestone from a path, like it’s a VIP only area. The irony is delicious.
And the gravestones? They’re all leaning. Time, weather, and London rain have knocked them crooked. It looks like a drunken army of monuments. Very fitting for a bunch of rebels.
