St Nicholas' Church


St Nicholas' Church

Playright Christopher Marlowe is buried here.

Location: Deptford Green, London

Description: St Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors. This ancient church, in existence since the 12th century, was visited by Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook before their world wide expeditions.

Christopher Marlowe, the 16th century playwright and spy, is buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery here after his mysterious murder in a local tavern.

The church contains an oak panel by Grinling Gibbons, which portrays his Vision of Ezekiel and shows the prophet by the Valley of the Dry Bones. The charnel house was erected in the 1600's to prevent the nasty trend of corpse stealing.

The gateposts feature quite chilling skull and cross bones, but is it true that they inspired the first 'skull and crossbones' emblem's depicted popularly on pirate flags?

Tours: London

Tours: Elizabethan & Stuart London

Themes: ChurchChurch Theme  AncientAncient Theme
St Nicholas' Church

Playright Christopher Marlowe is buried here.

Ranking This Month: 2713/3024

Pages Hit This Month: 22


Your Comments:

Name:
Email:
Your email will ONLY be used once, to confirm the publication of your comments. We value your contribution and privacy.

Anti-spam Security: Please enter this code:


Other places nearby:


Whitechapel Bell Foundry», 3.0km

The Union Chapel», 5.5km

St George in the East», 2.5km

Hawksmoor's St George's Church», 5.0km

St Marylebone Church», 6.2km

Watching for Bodysnatchers», 6.5km

Notre Dame de France», 5.0km

John Wesley Chapel», 3.9km

Butterfield's Gothic All Saints», 5.5km

The Actors' Church», 4.8km

Location Pinpointed: