St. Margaret's Church, Lee, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Lee, London Lee, also known as Lee Green, is an area of South East London, England, straddling the border of the London Borough of Lewisham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located northwest of Eltham and southeast of Lewisham. It was in Kent bef ...

. 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 on 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, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and is located on the south side of Lee Terrace/Belmont Hill, in

Lee Green Lee, also known as Lee Green, is an area of South East London, England, straddling the border of the London Borough of Lewisham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located northwest of Eltham and southeast of Lewisham. It was in Kent bef ...

, south-east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. 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 or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century, ...

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 Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, Hal ...

(1656–1742), from 1720 England's second

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astro ...

and the discoverer of the periodicity of

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

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. Bliss studied at Oxford University and later became the Savilian Pr ...

and

John Pond John Pond FRS (1767 – 7 September 1836) was an English astronomer who became the sixth Astronomer Royal, serving from 1811 to 1835. Early life Pond was born in 1767, in London. Pond's father made a fortune as a London merchant, enabling ...

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 James Annesley (1715 – 5 January 1760) was an Irishman with a claim to the title Earl of Anglesey, one of the wealthiest estates in Ireland. The dispute between Annesley and his uncle Richard Annesley was infamous in its time, but his story i ...

, 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 (1819 –1888) , his wife, and chemical engineer son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

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: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

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 {{London-Anglican-church-stub