Monument To Rev. Thomas Negus, Lee Old Churchyard

779/15/10045 LEE TERRACE 01-JUN-07 LEE Monument to Rev. Thomas Negus, Lee Old Churchyard

GV II Chest tomb. c1765 to the Rev Thomas Negus (d.1765). This is a stone chest tomb with angle balusters and panelled sides, surmounted by a ledger slab with a partially visible inscription. Part of the ledger slab is missing.

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. This tomb was erected c1765 to the Rev Thomas Negus (d.1765). Negus was the rector of St Mary's, Rotherhithe.

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 the Rev Thomas Negus (d.1765), rector of St Mary's Rotherhithe, Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, is a stone chest tomb with angle balusters and a partially visible inscription on the ledger slab. The tomb meets the criteria for listing of commemorative monuments as a mid-C18 tomb of good architectural quality.