St Mary Magdalene Church, Woolwich

Image: © Marathon Taken: 22 Dec 2020

St Mary Magdalene Church in Woolwich stands at the end of a spur of high ground overlooking the River Thames. The church was built between 1727 and 1739. The churchyard is now maintained by the London Borough of Greenwich as a public garden. I went to Woolwich Churchyard in search of two gravestones with epitaphs which have been widely quoted. Unfortunately, every single gravestone had been cleared to turn the churchyard into this featureless patch of grass. The only memorial left is the lion which was presumably too heavy to move - see https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6710943 At least someone in the past had noted the inscriptions on the two gravestones: “Sacred to the memory of Major James Brush who was killed by the accidental discharge of a pistol by his orderly, 14th April 1831. ‘Well done good and faithful servant’.” Also “As I am now, so you must be, therefore prepare to follow me”, but someone later added “To follow you I’m not content, until I know which way you went.” A fuller history of the church can be seen at https://www.stmaryswoolwich.co.uk/page4.html

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