This is the main section of Bunhill Fields graveyard, but there was another section that was bombed during the Second World War that they cleared. Many graves were destroyed and locations lost, but the gravestone of Joseph Swain (1761-1796) was salvaged and kept.
Swain was chiefly remembered for his work as a Baptist minister and hymn-writer, becoming one of the notable nonconformist religious voices of the late eighteenth century. After his conversion he was baptised in 1783 and soon devoted himself to preaching, eventually serving as pastor of the Baptist chapel in East Street, Walworth, where his ministry attracted such large congregations that the chapel had to be enlarged on several occasions. Alongside his preaching, Swain wrote a substantial body of devotional hymns and religious verse.
Looking at an old newspaper report, Swain was a difficult act to follow and that task fell to Dr Joseph Jenkins who the reporter noted:
“Jenkins was far superior to his predecessor in literary acquirement and elaborate preparation for the pulpit, but he was by no means his equal in energy and admiration.”
The church at Walworth had some troubled years, 36 of the members went their own way and created a new church, which all proved something of a challenge for all concerned. The result of this part of the graveyard being landscaped is that Swain’s gravestone now stands out in the paving, located near to the graves of William Blake and Daniel Defoe.
