St Mary's, Lewisham

Lewisham Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham, London

Visited May 2015

Right by the busy road from Lewisham Hospital into Lewisham itself is this really pretty church and churchyard. I've passed by loads of times and meant to go in, although from the street it doesn't look very big. Turns out that there is loads round the side and back of the church, and it's not that busy. A few people use it as a cut-through, but I didn't get any funny looks when wandering round taking pictures. There are even interpretation boards at the front and back entrances, which are really useful if you haven't read up about it before your visit.

The earliest burials date to the early 18th century, although there has been a churchyard here since Medieval times. A lot of the stones are very weathered and illegible, sadly, but it's possible to make out the odd hourglass and other 18th century symbols if you look hard enough. The latest burials are from the 1850s, when the Burials Act moved burials from churchyards to the larger cemeteries. If you can block out the noise of the traffic at the front, this is lovely country churchyard in the middle of town.

http://www.lewishamparish.com/churchyard.html