Description

779/15/10037 LEE TERRACE
01-JUN-07 Monument to Thomas Butler, Lee Old Chu
rchyard

II
Chest tomb. Erected c.1733 to Thomas Butler (d.1733), a farmer of Lee. A stone chest tomb on a plinth surmounted by a slab with a largely legible inscription, distinguished by its rusticated quoin corners. Unfortunately, an end and side panel have fallen away from the tomb, leaving it rather damaged.

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 tomb of Thomas Butler, a farmer of Lee (d.1733), Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, is stone chest tomb with a largely legible inscription, distinguished by its rusticated quoin corners. Despite the damage to one end and side panel, the tomb meets the criteria for listing of commemorative monuments as an early C18 tomb. The reference to the parish's more rural past is also of interest.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087125

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 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)