Editing Bunhill Fields (section)

==Community garden==
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| caption = Crop of Christopher and John Greenwood's 8 inch-to-mile map published in 1827 from an 1830 republication (click to view all).
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Upon closure of the Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, its future was uncertain as its lessee, the City of London Corporation, was close to expiry of its lease, scheduled for Christmas 1867.<ref>Ledger-Lomas 2017.</ref> To prevent the land from being redeveloped by the [[Ecclesiastical Commissioners]] (who controlled the freehold) at this expiry, the Corporation formed the Special Bunhill Fields Burial Ground Committee in 1865. This became formally known as the Bunhill Fields Preservation Committee.

Appointed by the corporation, it consisted of twelve advisors under the chairmanship of [[Charles Reed (British politician)|Charles Reed]], [[Society of Antiquaries of London|FSA]] (son of the Congregational philanthropist {{abbreviation|Dr.|Doctor}} Andrew Reed). He later rose to prominence as the first [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Hackney (UK Parliament constituency)|Hackney]] and chairman of the first School Board for London before being knighted. Along with his interest in making it into a parkland landscape, he was similarly interested in the wider educational and public benefits of [[Abney Park Cemetery]], of which he was a prominent director.

To corroborate the committee's work, the corporation obtained an act of Parliament, the [[Bunhill Fields Burial Ground Act 1867]] ([[30 & 31 Vict.]] c. 38),<ref name="CityOfLondon">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/city-gardens/visitor-information/Pages/Bunhill-Fields.aspx |title=Bunhill Fields Burial Ground |publisher=City of London |access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref> "for the Preservation of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground&nbsp;... as an open space". The legislation enabled them to continue to maintain the site when [[reversion (law)|possession would have otherwise reverted]] to the [[Ecclesiastical Commissioners]], provided it was laid out as a public open space with seating, gardens, and some of its most worthy monuments were restored. The improvements, which included the laying out of walks and paths, cost an estimated £3,500. The new park was opened by the [[Lord Mayor of London|Lord Mayor]], [[Sir James Lawrence, 1st Baronet|James Clarke Lawrence]], on 14 October 1869.<ref name="Corporation of London 1991, p. 8" />

The ground was severely damaged by [[Nazi Germany|German]] bombing during World War II; it is believed to have hosted an [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft gun]] during the [[The Blitz|Blitz]].<ref name="nhle"/> In the 1950s, after some debate, the City ordered: to clear the northern third (the projection) of the site of most of its monuments to open it as a public garden; and to preserve and protect the rest behind railings. Legislation in 1960 gave the freehold to the city (the corporation), which continues to maintain the grounds. Landscaping was designed and overseen by the architect and landscape architect [[Peter Shepheard]] in 1964–65.<ref name="nhle"/><ref>Corporation of London 1991, pp. 9–10.</ref>