Tomb of John Harrison and Family in St Johns Churchyard is a Grade II listed building in the Camden local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 May 1974. Tomb.
Tomb of John Harrison and Family in St Johns Churchyard
- WRENN ID
- heavy-corbel-umber
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Camden
- Constituency
- Hampstead and Highgate MP: Tulip Siddiq (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 14 May 1974
- Type
- Tomb
- Address
- Tomb of John Harrison and Family in St Johns Churchyard, Church Row
- OS grid reference
- TQ 261 856
- Coordinates
- 51.55519, -0.1811
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The tomb of John Harrison and his family is located in St John's Churchyard and dates from around 1776, although it has been restored. This chest tomb is built above a brick vault and is made of marble. It has a rectangular shape and rests on a stepped base. Fluted pilasters are set in from the corners on each side and feature enriched capitals with paterae at the level of a fluted frieze. A cornice and string course made of abacus and astragal continue around the tomb.
The north side of the tomb has an inscription that provides a biography of John Harrison, who is known for inventing the marine chronometer, as well as a tribute to his wife. The south side features an inscription about his son William, who tested the chronometers during sea voyages and assisted his father in a lengthy effort to claim a £20,000 prize. The edge of the top slab is inscribed with details about its reconstruction at the expense of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers of the City of London in 1879, with William Parker as Master, and notes that the railings were removed in 1934.
Local climate
Tomb of John Harrison and Family in St Johns Churchyard sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 98% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 66% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Tomb Chest to Harrison Family, About 2 Metres West of Church of St Mary
- 2 Harrison Family Chest Tomb, South of Church of St Mary Magdalene
- 3 Chest Tomb Approximately 4 Metres North East of Chancel of Church of St Mary
- 4 Tomb of Zachariah Darby and Railings in St Johns Churchyard
- 5 Comely Chest Tomb in the Churchyard About 10 Metres East of Chancel of St John
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings
Nearby listed buildings
- Tomb of Lady Elizabeth Norton in St Johns Churchyard
- Church of St John
- Tomb of William and John Hart and R Carey and A Cary in St Johns Churchyard
- Tomb of Nathaniel Booth, Lord Delamer in St Johns Churchyard
- Gates, Wall and Wall with Railings to St Johns Church
- Lamp Post Outside East Entrance of St Johns Church
- Tomb of Norman Shaw and Family in St Johns Churchyard
- Tomb of Robert Brooke in St Johns Churchyard
- Tomb of Thomas Gardnor and Family and Attached Railing in St Johns Churchyard
- Tomb of Gillam Scott in St Johns Churchyard