Monument To Louisa Clarke, Lee Old Churchyard

779/15/10040 LEE TERRACE 01-JUN-07 LEE Monument to Louisa Clarke, Lee Old Chu rchyard

GV II

Chest tomb. Early C19 to Louisa Clarke. A red brick chest tomb of with yellow stone inscription panels set in to the sides, surmounted by a stone ledger 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 (1839-41, 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 Louisa Clarke, Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, consists of a red brick chest tomb surmounted by a stone ledger slab. The tomb meets the criteria for listing of commemorative monuments as an early C19 tomb, with unusual yellow stone inscription panels set in to the sides. It groups well with the adjacent contemporary tombs to Elizabeth Walker Morris, similarly of interest for its materials.