86. The Poor ground, Bath Street.—¼ acre. This was originally larger than it is now. It was consecrated in 1662 for the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, and called the pest-house ground. After 1732, when St. Luke’s parish was formed, it was used by that parish. Now it is neatly laid out and used as a recreation ground by the patients of the St. Luke’s Asylum. It is ¼ acre in extent.
87. Wesleyan Chapel-ground, City Road.—½ acre. The part in front of the chapel is neatly kept, but the part behind is closed and not so tidy. Wesley himself was buried in a vault here.
88. Bunhill Fields.—5 or 6 acres. This was originally two grounds, the southern part having been intended for burials in the Great Plague, but not being used was let by the Corporation to a Mr. John Tyndall, who carried it on as a private cemetery. Subsequently the northern part was added, and the whole ground extensively used for the interment of Dissenters. The Corporation maintain it as a public garden, but the tombstones have not been moved, and only the gates at the eastern end are generally open.
89. The Friends Burial-ground, Bunhill Row.—Acquired in 1661, many times added to, and chiefly used by the Friends of the Peel and Bull-and-Mouth divisions. In 1840 a school was built in it. The existing portion is about ½ acre in size, and is neatly kept as a private garden; but the remainder was used as the site for a Board School, a coffee palace, houses and shops, including the Bunhill Fields Memorial Buildings, erected in 1881.
90. St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Ground, Seward Street.—⅓ acre. This was used for the interment of the unclaimed bodies. After being closed it was let as a carter’s yard until it was laid out as a public playground by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1891. It is maintained by St. Luke’s Vestry.
91. Cripplegate Poor ground, Whitecross Street.—It was called the “upper churchyard” of St. Giles, and was first used in 1636. It was very much overcrowded, the fees being low. A part of the site is occupied by the church and mission-house of St. Mary, Charterhouse, erected in 1864, and only a very small courtyard now exists between these buildings, with a large vault.
92. The City Bunhill (or Golden Lane) Burial-ground.—¼ acres. This was the site of a brewery, and set aside for burials in 1833. About one-third of it is in the City. It is now divided. One part is in the occupation of Messrs. Sutton and Co., carriers, and is full of sheds and carts, the greater part being roofed in, and the southern part has the City mortuary and coroner’s court on it. What is unbuilt upon is a neat, private yard between these two buildings. It was closed for burials in 1853.
SHOREDITCH.
93. St. Leonard’s Churchyard.—1½ acres. Maintained as a public garden by the Shoreditch Vestry. It is, I believe, partly in Bethnal Green.
94. Old Burial-ground, Hackney Road.—½ acre. This has an ancient watch-house in it, which was subsequently used as a cholera hospital. In 1892 the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association laid it out as a public playground, and it is maintained by the Burial Board.