Description

779/15/10033 LEE TERRACE
01-JUN-07 LEE
Monument to Henry Knight, Lee Old Chur
chyard

GV II
Headstone, c.1742 to Henry Knight (d.1742), 'Master Caulker of his Majesties Yard at Deptford'. This finely carved headstone depicts a 'sacred still-life' consisting of an urn, candle and book set amid foliage and auricular borders. The stone is in relatively good condition, and the inscription is still legible.

HISTORY: Lee old churchyard contains many notable monuments which reflect the area's Georgian past as a place of retirement for City merchants and those involved with Greenwich and the Deptford shipyards. In the centre of the churchyard stand the remains of the tower belonging to the former medieval Church of St Margaret (listed Grade II). The current Church of St Margaret stands to the south side of Lee Terrace (1839-41, listed Grade II*). The churchyard of the current church contains later tombs, being used principally between the 1840s and 1870s. A decline in usage came with the opening of Hither Green Cemetery, Lee in 1873.

SOURCES
E and J Birchenough, Monumental Inscriptions in the Old Churchyard, St Margaret's, Lee (1967 typescript in Manor House Library)
C P Gwilt (1830), F Bamping (2001) et al, Lee - Kent Archaeological Society website.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: The headstone of Henry Knight (d.1742), 'Master Caulker of his Majesties Yard Deptford', in Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, is a tablet with a good depiction of an urn, candle and book surrounded by auriculars and foliage, with a legible inscription. It meets the criteria for listing of commemorative monuments as a finely carved mid-C18 headstone. The connection between Knight and the nearby Deptford dockyard is also of local interest.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087121

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair