Whilst walking through Bunhill Fields on Sunday, I came across the most unusual grave. It made me stop instantly and take a closer look. After some research I was astonished at what I found.

At first glance, the tomb of Dame Mary Page looks fairly typical for early 18th century London. A solid stone chest, weathered by time, sitting quietly among the dissenters of Bunhill Fields. Mary died in 1728, aged 56, and was the widow of Sir Gregory Page, a wealthy merchant and MP. But it’s the inscription on the reverse that makes this one of London’s strangest memorials.

It records that during the final five and a half years of her life she was “tap’d” 66 times, and that 240 gallons of water were removed from her body as doctors attempted to treat her illness. Tap'd means drained, if your curious.

The inscription even notes that she never once repined at her condition or feared the operation. It’s an extraordinary detail to carve into stone. Not just a record of death, but of endurance. Nearly three centuries later, it still stops passers-by in their tracks.