Bunyan, John (1628-1688)

Bunyan, John

PREACHER, WRITER (ENGLAND)

BORN 30 Nov 1628, Harrowden, Bedfordshire (near Bedford) - DIED 31 Aug 1688, London: Snow Hill
GRAVE LOCATION London: Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, City Road, Finsbury

John Bunyan had little educatoon and served in the army of Parliament at Newport Pagnell from 1644 until 1647. He married a woman named Mary in 1649 and the two religious books she brought into the marriage were instrumental in his decision to lead a religious life.

In 1655 he became a deacon in Bedford. Mary died in the same year and in 1659 remarried. His preaching was successful, but Bunyan attacked the beliefs of the Quakers.

In 1660 he was arrested and locked up in the county Goal in Silver Street in Bedford because he was preaching without a license. He was meant to be locked up for only tree months, but his refusal to stop preaching led to an imprisonment of 12 years (apart from a short period in 1666). It was probably during his imprisonment that he began his famous work "The Pilgrim's Progress".

In 1672 he was released as a result of the Declaration of Religious Indulgence. But after Charles II withdrew it in 1675 he was arrested again and this time he was locked up in Bedford Town jail on the stone bridge over the Ouse. Six months later he was released and he wasn't arrested again. In 1678 the first part of the "The Pilgrim's Progress" was published. The second part followed in 1684. He also wrote "The Life and Death of Mr. Badman" (1680) and "The Holy War"
(1682).

During a trip to London in 1688 he caught a cold and he died soon afterwards in the house of a friend.

Images

The grave monument of John Bunyan at Bunhill Burial Fields, London.