The Halley Monument, Lee Old Churchyard

779/15/10028 LEE TERRACE 01-JUN-07 LEE The Halley Monument, Lee Old Churchyard

GV II Tomb chest, 1854. Stone tomb chest to the famous astronomer Edmund Halley (1656-1742), with a slab top and circular decoration on the side panels, a top of a moulded plinth. There is some damage to the edges of the top slab.

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 (1839-1841, 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. Edmund Halley was appointed second Astronomer Royal in 1721, at the age of 69. He is perhaps best known as the first astronomer to observe that the now named 'Halley's Comet' was periodic, returning at intervals of approximately 75 years. He died in Greenwich on 14 January 1742. His daughters set up a memorial with an inscription that was erected at the Royal Observatory. The tomb in Lee old churchyard was replaced in 1854 by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and the original was incorporated into the Summer House wall at the Octagon Room in Greenwich.

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 Halley monument, Lee old churchyard, Lewisham is a relatively plain, stone table tomb of 1854, which replaced the original tomb erected to the Astronomer Royal and discoverer of 'Halley's Comet', Edmund Halley (1656-1742). Despite its simple design and 1850s date, the tomb meets the criteria for listing of commemorative monuments as the resting place of a distinguished person of national importance.