Tomb of Daniel Defoe | London

Daniel Defoe (born 1660 – died 1731) was an English trader, writer, journalist, pamphleteer, and spy who was famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe. He is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of creating the modern day novel. In Defoe’s early life he experienced firsthand some of the most unusual occurrences in English history: in 1665, circa 70,000 Londoners were killed by the Great Plague. In 1666, the Great Fire of London spared only Defoe’s home and two others in his neighborhood. In 1667, a Dutch fleet sailed up the Medway via the River Thames and attacked the town of Chatham.

He was buried in Bunhill Fields which has a long history as a burial ground and includes many prominent people such as William Blake, John Bunyan, and Susannah Wesley. Circa 123,000 people were buried here before it’s closure in 1854. Today there are still 2,333 monuments – mostly simple headstones arranged in a grid formation. Bunhill was the largest and most established of London’s 18th century suburban graveyards. The name Bunhill is thought by many to be a corruption of ‘Bonehill" as the area is reputed to have been a graveyard for well over 1,000 years.

Posted by (J&M) on 2014-09-20 14:42:51

Tagged: , cemetery , london , england