Description

779/15/10030 LEE TERRACE
01-JUN-07 LEE
Monument of Sir John Call Bt, Lee Old
Churchyard

GV II*
Box tomb and obelisk, erected c.1801 to Sir John Call Bt, MP (1732-1801). Monument of Coade stone, consisting of a deep panelled plinth, with smaller plinth above decorated with panels with swags and console brackets, and surmounted by an obelisk with armorial bearings with the motto "ERATA MANU", and a small draped sarcophagus. This is one of the grandest outdoor memorials ever produced by the Coade factory. Despite ivy growth, the monument is in good condition.

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. This tomb was erected to Sir John Call Bt. MP (1732-1801), a servant of the East India Company and military engineer, who retired to England after making his fortune in India. Call was also a Fellow of the Royal Society and Society of Antiquaries.

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 monument of Sir John Call Bt. MP, Lee old churchyard, Lewisham, meets the criteria for listing as a tomb of fine architectural quality, and as one of the grandest outdoor memorials ever produced by the Coade factory. The connection between the proximity of the docks and Call's employment with the East India Company is also of interest. Coade stone was also used at some of Call's estate buildings at Callington, his Cornish seat; this fondness for the material adds interest.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17871256

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
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  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
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  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)