St. Margaret's Church, Lee, is a Church of England parish church in Lee, London. It was built between 1839 and 1841 in a simple early Victorian style (to a design by Norwich architect

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

), replacing an earlier church which had been built on the foundations of the older mediaeval church nearby dating to around 1120. It is

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and is located on the south side of Lee Terrace/Belmont Hill, in Lee Green, south-east London. Extensive and lavish interior decoration was carried out between the years of 1875 and 1900. By 1980 it had fallen into dilapidation and an extensive 20-year restoration programme was carried out. On completion of the restoration, the church is one of the best preserved examples of a decorated

gothic revivalist Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

interior in London. Old Tower Of Former Church Of St Margaret

Between 1813 and 1830 there had been an attempt to rebuild the medieval church, involving the architect

Joseph Gwilt Joseph Gwilt (11 January 1784 – 14 September 1863) was an English architect and writer. He was the son of George Gwilt, architect surveyor to the county of Surrey, and was born at Southwark. George Gwilt the Younger, was his elder brother. ...

. This failed when it became clear that the foundations of the old church were incapable of supporting a new building. The ruins of the original building are in the medieval churchyard on the north side of Lee Terrace. The tomb of Edmond Halley (1656–1742), from 1720 England's second Astronomer Royal and the discoverer of the

periodicity Periodicity or periodic may refer to: Mathematics * Bott periodicity theorem, addresses Bott periodicity: a modulo-8 recurrence relation in the homotopy groups of classical groups * Periodic function, a function whose output contains values tha ...

of Halley's Comet is in the churchyard, one of three Astronomers Royal buried at St. Margaret's (

Nathaniel Bliss Nathaniel Bliss (28 November 1700 – 2 September 1764) was an English astronomer of the 18th century, serving as Britain's fourth Astronomer Royal between 1762 and 1764. Life Nathaniel Bliss was born in the Cotswolds village of Bisley i ...

and John Pond are the others). Also notable is the tomb of

Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet (c. 1704 – 18 January 1768), of Lee Place in Kent, was an English merchant and banker who served as a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London. Biography Fludyer was the eldest son of Samuel Fludyer, a ...

and his family. James Annesley, a celebrated claimant to the Earldom of Anglesey, was buried in the churchyard in an unmarked grave. Graves in the churchyard around the current church include one for wealthy builder William Webster, his wife, and chemical engineer son, William who lived at nearby Wyberton House on Lee Terrace.

References

External links

The Church's Parish WebsiteCurrent ChurchParish HistoryCraftsmen and WomenOld Church YardGallery of interior features
19th-century Church of England church buildings

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

Churches completed in 1841

Victorian architecture in England Lee, London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Lewisham Grade II* listed churches in London {{UK-anglican-church-stub