Tredway Monument, Lee Old Churchyard

779/15/10044 LEE TERRACE 01-JUN-07 LEE Tredway Monument, Lee Old Churchyard

GV II Chest tomb and sarcophagus tomb. This unusual tomb consists of a mid/late C18 angle baluster chest tomb with raised-fielded panels, to Thomas Tredway (d.1780) and Walter Tredway (d.1746), below an early C19 upper sarcophagus with tapering fluted pilasters flanking a raised panel on each side of the tomb, to William Wynch (d.1819). The west end of the upper part has collapsed.

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. The bottom part of the tomb was erected in the mid/late C18 to Thomas Tredway (d.1780) and Walter Tredway (d.1746), and the top half in the early C19 to William Wynch (d.1819).

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 Thomas Tredway (d.1780), and also Walter Tredway (d.1746) and William Wynch (d.1819), Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, is an odd combination of a mid/late C18 baluster-angled chest tomb with an early C19 upper sarcophagus, with both parts being of good architectural quality, despite some damage. It is therefore listed at Grade II.