Morris Monument, Lee Old Churchyard

779/15/10039 LEE TERRACE 01-JUN-07 LEE Morris Monument, Lee Old Churchyard

GV II Chest tomb. c.1828 to Elizabeth Walker Morris (d.1828). A brick chest tomb with a stone ledger slab above. Although it is plain, the tomb has the very unusual combination of yellow bricks with white tuck pointing set in pink coloured mortar, a time consuming and thus expensive finish reserved for buildings or structures of quality.

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 Elizabeth Walker Morris (d.1828) in Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, consists of a brick chest tomb with a stone ledger slab above. The tomb meets the criteria for listing of commemorative monuments as an early C19 tomb, with a very unusual combination of yellow bricks with white tuck pointing set in pink coloured mortar, denoting a structure of quality. It groups well with the adjacent tombs, of similar date and also of interest for its materials.