St Margaret's, Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Margaret of Antioch |
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
St. Margaret of Antioch, Lee Green, south east London
|
|
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| History | |
| Dedication | St. Margaret of Antioch |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Margaret of Antioch, Lee |
| Diocese | Southwark |
| Province | Canterbury |
St. Margaret's Church in Lee, London, is a special church for the Church of England. It stands in Lee Green, a part of south-east London. This church was built a long time ago, between 1839 and 1841. It replaced an even older church that dated back to around 1120!
The church has a simple, early Victorian style. It was designed by an architect named John Brown from Norwich.
A Look Inside the Church
After the church was built, many beautiful decorations were added. This happened between 1875 and 1900. These decorations made the inside of the church look very grand.
By 1980, the church had become quite old and needed a lot of repair. A big project started to fix it up. This restoration work took 20 years to finish! Now, St. Margaret's Church is one of the best examples of a decorated Gothic Revival style inside London.
The Old Church and Famous Graves
Before the current church, there was a much older one. People tried to rebuild it between 1813 and 1830. However, they found that the old church's foundations were too weak. They could not support a new building.
The remains of that very old church are still there. You can find them in the medieval churchyard. This old churchyard is on the north side of Lee Terrace.
Many important people are buried in the churchyards around St. Margaret's. One very famous person buried here is Edmond Halley (1656–1742). He was England's second Astronomer Royal. This means he was a top scientist who studied the stars and planets. Edmond Halley is famous for discovering that Halley's Comet appears regularly.
Two other Astronomers Royal are also buried at St. Margaret's. They are Nathaniel Bliss and John Pond. It's quite rare to have three such important scientists buried in one place!
