View of Boone's Chapel, of Lee High Road, Lewisham.
Boone’s Chapel was built in 1682 as a private almshouse chapel with four houses attached. It was the gateway to the founders’ house, Lee Place, and became their mausoleum. It was unused and derelict since the 1940s and is one of the two Grade 1 listed buildings in Lewisham. In 2008 the Blackheath Historic Buildings Trust found a use for it as an architects’ office and the building will be open 30 days a year with exhibitions. Boone's Chapel, which has been attributed to Wren is probably by Robert Hooke. Between 1683 and 1877 it was used as a place of worship for the almshouse residents and a chapel-of-ease for St Margaret's Parish. It was for a time in 1813 used as the parish church when the new church was being erected, and again in 1870 when the third church was being repaired. The current Merchant Taylors’ Almshouses were built on the site in 1826 by Merchant Taylors' surveyor William Jupp Jnr, after the Company decided to relocate its almshouses at Tower Hill to Lee. In 1875 Boone's Almshouses were rebuilt further down the road and the old buildings demolished in 1877, although Boone's Chapel remained, one of the first London buildings scheduled for preservation, as reported by The Kentish Mercury in September 1933.
Size: 5332px × 3744px
Location: Lee High Road, Lewisham, London.
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1, 1682, almshouse, boone, chapel, grade, high, historic, lee, lewisham, listed, mausoleum, preserved, private, road
