gravestones and tombs

coade stone tomb to henry hunter +1802, with their split signature and the date 1804 on the corners of the base

coade stone tomb to henry hunter +1802

probably a c18 tombstone, though quite fancifully rococo for a non-conformist gravestone of that date. seemingly with two coats of arms held up by two putti. at first I thought there was a stuart connection to the lower clearer shield, with its lion rampant and its checky chief, but there is no clear tressure, and it seems closer to warren of lincoln. of course, without tinctures the family can't be known for sure, though there must be burial records somewhere that could narrow it down.

chest tombs of the early c18 in this nonconformist valhalla bearing plenty of skulls and thighbones, all you need for bodily resurrection on judgement day...

sinking slowly into the earth. chest tombs of the early c18 in this nonconformist valhalla bearing plenty of skulls and thighbones, all you need for bodily resurrection on judgement day...

defoe's 1731 grave is marked with this victorian obelisk, an earlier tombstone is in hackney museum. someone brought him a pot plant; bunyan got none, but blake gets the most. it seems london's literary mourners have a niceness of taste.

blake died in 1827 ,his wife in 1831. they are buried hereabouts, but no original tombstone exists. this modern memorial gets the most floral tributes of any tomb here, but I bet he'd have preferred recognition whilst alive.

worth reading if odd, this epitaph of 1800 must have been written by the rev. joseph cartwright himself. doubt if his friends were impressed...

worth reading if odd, this epitaph of 1800 must have been written by the rev. joseph cartwright himself. doubt if his friends were impressed...

unusually shaped chest tombs of the early to mid c19 in the old unitarian graveyard, now planted as a public garden

unusually shaped chest tombs of the early to mid c19 in the old unitarian graveyard, now planted as a public garden

unusually shaped chest tombs of the early to mid c19 in the old unitarian graveyard, now planted as a public garden

detail of the c18 pyramid memorial in the churchyard. originally raised on a plinth, its current position has given rise to speculation that it was intended to top the east end of the church, but this was never the case. it bears a coat of arms and the words "the wisdom of solomon" in english and hebrew, presumably a panegyric of the deceased. it could be by hawksmoor, or it could be later.

a coade stone urn marked "coade and sealy london 1806" tops this tomb, one of very few suffered to remain

a coade stone urn marked "coade and sealy london 1806" tops this tomb

a coade stone urn marked "coade and sealy london 1806" tops this tomb

a coade stone urn marked "coade and sealy london 1806" tops this tomb

a coade stone urn marked "coade and sealy london 1806" tops this tomb