IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
St. Mary Street, LONDON, SE18 5AN

An Anglican parish church on the western edge of the town centre, but in a historically prominent position overlooking the river Thames. This is a view of the East end and South side of the church. The building is listed grade 2* (listed building no. 200362 or Heritage asset number 1358969 from 2011). It was built in 1727-39 "by a Deptford bricklayer, Matthew Spray" but the architect's name is unknown. The east end was rebuilt and extended with transepts in 1893-94 by J.O. Scott, and there were further modifications in the 20th century. These including the screening-off of the upper part of the galleries in 1961 - the North gallery was turned into a Coffee House open Monday to Friday for local workers and the South gallery turned into a Parish Lounge for use for church social events, committee meetings and the like; the glass screens were removed in 2009. The aisles below the galleries were partitioned off to form offices in 1967 to house the local Council of Social Services. At the same time the crypt under the 1890s extension was dug out to form an unusual Youth Club area with a separate entrance, just visible at the right-hand side of the photograph.

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