LEE, KENT.


The rural village of Lee is situate six miles south of London, on the
south side of Blackheath, and on the road to Maidstone. It is a place
of considerable antiquity; and was originally written _Legheart_, and
in old Latin, _Laga_, i.e. a place which lies sheltered. "The manor
was held of Edward the Confessor by Alwin. William the Conqueror gave
it to his half-brother, Odo, bishop of Baieux, and Earl of Kent, of
whom it was held by Walter de Donay." In the time of the Confessor, it
was valued at 3_l._ and in Domesday at 100_s_. Its extent is somewhat
more than 1,000 acres. Hasted enumerates the successive lords, among
whom were Lord Rivers, who was beheaded at Banbury in 1649; and his
son, Anthony, Earl Rivers, who was beheaded at Pomfret, in 1483. The
manor was purchased by Sir Francis Baring, bart., in 1798.

* * * * *

[Illustration: _Lee Church and Parsonage._]

* * * * *

The picturesque vignette includes the church and parsonage. The Church
is in what is called the pointed style, or rather in humble imitation
of antiquity, for it is a recent structure built on the site of the
walls of the old church, but with the addition of side-aisles. Nearly
two centuries before the erection of the present church, the villagers
reported the old building to be in a state too ruinous to admit of
repair: how long did its stability gainsay their judgment, while they