St. Margaret's, Westminster
Encyclopedia
The Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

 church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

 on Parliament Square
Parliament Square
Parliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west. It contains statues of famous statesmen and is the scene of rallies and protests, as well as being a tourist...

, and is the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch.

History and description

Originally founded in the 12th century by Benedictine monks
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...

, so that local people who lived in the area around the Abbey could worship separately at their own simpler parish church, and historically part of the hundred of Ossulstone
Ossulstone
Ossulstone was an ancient hundred in the south east of the county of Middlesex, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of London; and now corresponds to the part of Inner London that is north of the River Thames and, from Outer London, parts of the London boroughs of Barnet,...

 in the county of Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, St Margaret's was rebuilt from 1486 to 1523. It became the parish church of the Palace of Westminster in 1614, when the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...

s of the 17th century, unhappy with the highly liturgical Abbey, chose to hold Parliamentary services in the more "suitable" St Margaret's: a practice that has continued since that time.

The Rector of St. Margaret's is a canon of Westminster Abbey
Dean and Canons of Westminster
The Dean and Canons of Westminster are the ecclesiastical body of Westminster Abbey, a collegiate church of the Church of England and royal peculiar in Westminster, England. They meet in Chapter and are also known as the Dean and Chapter of Westminster....

.

The north-west tower was rebuilt by John James from 1734 to 1738; at the same time, the whole structure was encased in Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...

. Both the eastern and the western porch were added later by J. L. Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson was a Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation.-Early life and education:Pearson was born in Brussels, Belgium on 5...

. The church's interior was greatly restored and altered
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 to its current appearance by Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...

 in 1877, although many of the Tudor
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 features were retained.

Commemorative windows and notable burials

Notable features include the east window of 1509 of Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

, created to commemorate the betrothal of Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...

 to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. Other windows commemorate William Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...

, Britain's first printer, who was buried at the church in 1491, Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....

, executed in Old Palace Yard and then also buried in the church in 1618, the poet John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

, a parishioner of the church, and Admiral Robert Blake
Robert Blake (admiral)
Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...

. The collector Henry Constantine Jennings
Henry Constantine Jennings
Henry Constantine Jennings was an antiquarian, collector and gambler, best known for the Roman sculpture - known as The Jennings Dog - which he acquired and which is now in the British Museum. He was known as "Dog Jennings" after it...

 is also buried there.

Other notable burials include those of William Murray, 2nd Earl of Tullibardine
Duke of Atholl
Duke of Atholl, alternatively Duke of Athole, named after Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray...

, 30 July 1627; Edward Grimeston
Edward Grimeston
Edward Grimeston was an English sergeant-at-arms and one of the most active translators of his day.-Life:He was sworn in as sergeant-at-arms to assist the Speaker in the Parliament of England on March 17, 1609/10. He married a daughter of Armiger Strettly. He had a son, Edward, and Sir Harbottle...

, 14 December 1640; and Wenceslas Hollar
Wenceslas Hollar
Václav Hollar , known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar , was a Bohemian etcher, who lived in England for much of his life...

, died 25 March 1677. Also Bishop Nicholas Clagett
Nicholas Clagett
Nicholas Clagett was an English bishop.-Life:Claggett was from a clerical family of Bury St Edmunds. He went up to Trinity College, Cambridge aged 16 in April 1702, graduating B.A. in 1705-6, M.A. in 1709 and D.D. in 1724....

.

Following the Restoration of the Monarchy, in 1661 the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...

 who had been buried in Westminster Abbey (Admiral Robert Blake
Robert Blake (admiral)
Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...

, Denis Bond, Nicholas Boscawen, Mary Bradshaw, Sir William Constable, Admiral Richard Deane
Richard Deane
Richard Deane , English general-at-sea, major-general and regicide, was a younger son of Edward Deane of Temple Guiting or Guyting in Gloucestershire, where he was born, his baptism taking place on 8 July 1610...

, Isaac Dorislaus
Isaac Dorislaus
Isaac Dorislaus was an Anglo-Dutch lawyer and diplomat.He was the son of a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church. He was educated at Leiden, removed to England about 1627, and was appointed to a lectureship in history at Cambridge, where his attempt to justify the Dutch revolt against Spain led to...

, Anne Fleetwood, Thomas Hesilrige, Humphrey Mackworth, Stephen Marshall, Thomas May
Thomas May
Thomas May was an English poet, dramatist and historian of the Renaissance era.- Early life and career until 1630 :...

, John Meldrum
John Meldrum
Sir John Meldrum was a soldier of Scottish origin who spent 36 years in the service of the Stuart kings of Scotland and England, James VI and I and Charles I. In 1636, Meldrum was granted by letters-patent from the king licence to continue and renew the lighthouses erected by Charles I on the...

, Admiral Edward Popham
Edward Popham
Edward Popham was a General-at-Sea during the English Civil War.Edward Popham was son of Sir Francis Popham and his wife Anne . By 1636 he was a naval lieutenant. During the English Civil War he supported parliament and joined the forces of Oliver Cromwell. He was elected M.P. for Minehead in...

, John Pym
John Pym
John Pym was an English parliamentarian, leader of the Long Parliament and a prominent critic of James I and then Charles I.- Early life and education :...

, Humphrey Salwey, William Strong
William Strong (minister)
William Strong was an English clergyman and then pastor of an independent congregation, and member of the Westminster Assembly.-Life:...

, William Stroud and William Twiss) were disinterred from the Abbey and reburied in an unmarked pit in St Margaret's churchyard on the orders of King Charles II. A memorial to them can now be found set into the external wall to the left of the main west entrance.

Weddings

The church has been a common venue for "society" weddings, including those of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...

 and former prime ministers Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 and members of the Bright Young People
Bright Young People
The Bright Young People was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw elaborate fancy dress parties, went on elaborate treasure hunts through nighttime London, and drank heavily and experimented with drugs—all of which...

. and Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....

.

The ensemble of St. Margaret's, the Palace of Westminster, and Westminster Abbey is a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

. Members of Parliament and Staff members of the House of Lords & House of Commons are permitted to marry in the church.

Other notable events

During the First World War, Dr Littleton, headmaster of Eton, gave a sermon at the church on the theme of "Loving your enemies". He spoke of his opinion that any post-war treaty should be a just one and not a vindictive one. He had to leave the church after the service by a back door, while a number of demonstrators sang "Rule Britannia" in protest at his attitude.

Organ

The organ is largely built by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd
J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd
J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd is a British firm of organ builders established in 1828 by Joseph William Walker in London. Walker organs were popular additions to churches during the Gothic Revival era of church building and restoration in Victorian Britain, and instruments built by Walker are found in...

. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Organists

Organists who have played at St Margaret's include:
  • Robert Whyte
    Robert White (composer)
    Robert White probably born in Holborn, a district of London, was a catholic English composer whose liturgical music to Latin texts is considered particularly fine...

     1570 - 1574
  • John Egglestone
  • John Parsons 1616 - 1621 (then organist of Westminster Abbey
    Westminster Abbey
    The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

    )
  • John Hilton
    John Hilton (composer)
    John Hilton was an English early baroque composer. He is best known for his books Ayres or Fa-Las for Three Voices and Catch That Catch Can.- Life :...

     1628 - 1657(?)
  • John Blow
    John Blow
    John Blow was an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. His pupils included William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and Henry Purcell. In 1685 he was named a private musician to James II. His only stage composition, Venus and Adonis John Blow (baptised 23 February...

     1695 - ????
  • Bernard Smith 1676 - 1708
  • Henry Turner 1708 - ????
  • John Illam ???? - 1726
  • Edward Purcell
    Edward Purcell (musician)
    Edward Purcell was born in Westminster, London, the only surviving son of the English Baroque master, Henry Purcell. When his mother Frances died in February 1706, she stated in her will, and apparently in accordance with her husband's wishes, that she had given him a good education.Holman, Peter,...

    , son of Henry Purcell
    Henry Purcell
    Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...

    , 1726–1740
  • James Butler 1740 - 1772
  • William Rock 1774 - 1802
  • Michael Rock 1802 - 1809
  • John Bernard Sale 1809 - 1838
  • Walter Galpin Alcock ???? - 1896
  • Edwin Lemare
    Edwin Lemare
    Edwin Henry Lemare was an English organist and composer who lived the latter part of his life in the United States.-Biography:...

     1897 - 1902
  • Reginald Goss-Custard 1902 - 1914
  • Edwin Stephenson
    Edwin Stephenson (organist)
    Edwin Stephenson was an English cathedral organist, who served in St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham.-Background:He was born in Windermere, Cumbria in 1871...

     1914 - 1922 (formerly organist of St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham
    St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham
    The Cathedral Church of Saint Philip is the Church of England cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Birmingham. Built as a parish church and consecrated in 1715, St Philip's became the cathedral of the newly formed Diocese of Birmingham in the West Midlands in 1905...

    )
  • Herbert Dawson 1929 - 1965
  • Martin Neary
    Martin Neary
    Martin Neary LVO is an English organist and choral conductor. He was Organist and Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral from 1972 to 1988, and Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey from 1988 to 1998...

     1965 - 1972
  • Richard Hickox
    Richard Hickox
    Richard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...

     1972 - 1982
  • Thomas Trotter
    Thomas Trotter
    Thomas Trotter is a British concert organist. He is Birmingham City Organist and organist of St. Margaret's, Westminster and visiting Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music, London....

  • Simon Over 1992 - 2002

  • External links

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