Monument To Christopher Boone, Lee Old Churchyard

779/15/10029 LEE TERRACE 01-JUN-07 LEE Monument to Christopher Boone, Lee Old Churchyard

GV II Box tomb, c1748, restored in 1950. Stone box tomb with angle scrolls on plinth with smaller tier above crowned by gadrooned urn. Commemorates Christopher Boone, the founder of the nearby Boone's Almshouses who died in 1678 and his son Thomas (d. 1748). The tomb is in a relatively good state of repair.

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 to Christopher Boone (d.1678), the founder of Boone's Almshouses, Lee High Road. The almshouses were demolished in 1877, although the chapel survives and is listed Grade I, and is situated in the grounds of the Merchant Taylor's almshouses. The tomb also commemorates his son Thomas (d.1748), and is more likely to date from then rather than the C17.

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 monument of Christopher Boone (d.1678), and his son Thomas (d.1748), Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, is a prominent stone box tomb of c.1748. It meets the criteria for listing as an early C18 tomb of fine architectural quality. It is also of local interest due to the connection with the Boone almshouses (now demolished) and chapel (Grade I), and it has strong group value.