Monument To Henry Knight, Lee Old Churchyard

779/15/10033 LEE TERRACE 01-JUN-07 LEE Monument to Henry Knight, Lee Old Chur chyard

GV II Headstone, c.1742 to Henry Knight (d.1742), 'Master Caulker of his Majesties Yard at Deptford'. This finely carved headstone depicts a 'sacred still-life' consisting of an urn, candle and book set amid foliage and auricular borders. The stone is in relatively good condition, and the inscription is still legible.

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 headstone of Henry Knight (d.1742), 'Master Caulker of his Majesties Yard Deptford', in Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, is a tablet with a good depiction of an urn, candle and book surrounded by auriculars and foliage, with a legible inscription. It meets the criteria for listing of commemorative monuments as a finely carved mid-C18 headstone. The connection between Knight and the nearby Deptford dockyard is also of local interest.