Details
779/15/10027 LEE TERRACE
01-JUN-07 LEE
The Fludyer tomb, Lee Old Churchyard
GV II*
Tomb chest. Erected c.1769 to Sir Samuel Fludyer Bt, MP (?1704-1768), Lord Mayor of London 1761-62, and his brother Sir Thomas Fludyer FRS (d. 1769), and their wives, possibly by Sir Robert Taylor, though a drawing entitled "The Designe of a Canopy, to be placed in the Winter, over the Marble Tomb of Sir Samuel and Sir Thomas Fludyer" is signed by Robert Chambers and dated 21 October 1769. Chambers may have taken over the commission. Portland stone, with some marble sections, Rococo tomb chest with a serpentine profiled sarcophagus on a plinth capped by an armorial upper stage with splayed scrolls. The urn which formerly topped this monument was lying in several pieces on the ground nearby at the time of inspection. The tomb has been reassembled at some time as the arms no longer tally with the persons identified in the descriptions formerly beneath them. The Inscriptions are now almost
illegible.
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. Sir Samuel Fludyer, Bt, MP for Chippenham was buried close to his seat. As well as being deputy governor to the Bank of England and Lord Mayor of London (1761-62), Fludyer was a massively wealthy clothier and West Indies merchant. He was reputed to have been worth £900,000 at his death according to the Gentlemans Magazine, 18 January 1768, 47. He is remembered in the erection of the Fludyer tomb and in the naming of Fludyer Street, immediately to the south of Downing Street.
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.
Bowdler, R., Rococo in Lee: The Fludyer Tomb by Robert Chambers, in the Georgian Group Journal, p.91-93 (1993).
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: The Fludyer tomb, Lee old churchyard, Lewisham is a fine Rococo chest tomb of c1769, erected to Sir Samuel Fludyer Bt., MP, and Lord Mayor of London (1761-61), his brother and wives. The tomb appears to have been designed by Robert Chambers, the commission possibly having been passed to him by Sir Robert Taylor. The tomb meets the criteria for listing commemorative monuments as an example of a late C18 tomb of high quality sculptural design erected to a person of historic and local interest.
