| St Margaret's, Westminster | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
 St Margaret's, Westminster | |
| Location | St Margaret Street andSW1London |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 12th century |
| Dedication | St Margaret |
| Consecrated | 9 April 1523 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Perpendicular Gothic;Tudor architecture |
| Completed | 1523 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | London |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Sarah Mullally |
| Rector | Anthony Ball |
| Laity | |
| Organist/Director of music | Greg Morris |
| Organist | Thomas Trotter |
| Official name | Palace of Westminster,Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iv |
| Designated | 1987(11thsession) |
| Reference no. | 426 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Region | Europe and North America |
TheChurch of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is anAnglican parish church in the grounds ofWestminster Abbey onParliament Square, London, England.[1] It is dedicated toMargaret of Antioch,[2] and forms part of a singleWorld Heritage Site with thePalace of Westminster andWestminster Abbey.
The church was founded in the twelfth century byBenedictine monks, so that local people who lived in the area around the Abbey[3] could worship separately at their own simpler parish church, and historically it was within the hundred ofOssulstone in the county ofMiddlesex.[4] In 1914, in a preface toMemorials of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, a former Rector of St Margaret's,Hensley Henson, reported a mediaeval tradition that the church was as old asWestminster Abbey, owing its origins to the same royal saint, and that "The two churches, conventual and parochial, have stood side by side for more than eight centuries – not, of course, the existing fabrics, but older churches of which the existing fabrics are successors on the same site."[5]
St Margaret's was rebuilt from 1486 to 1523, at the instigation ofKing Henry VII, and the new church, which largely still stands today, was consecrated on 9 April 1523. It has been called "the last church in London decorated in the Catholic tradition before the Reformation", and on each side of a largerood cross there stood richly painted statues of St Mary and St John, while the building had several internal chapels. In the 1540s, the new church came near to demolition, whenEdward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, planned to take it down to provide good-quality materials forSomerset House, his own new palace inthe Strand. He was only kept from carrying out his plan by the resistance of armed parishioners.[6]
In 1614, St Margaret's became the parish church of thePalace of Westminster, when thePuritans of the seventeenth century, unhappy with the highly liturgical Abbey, chose to hold their Parliamentary services in a church they found more suitable:[7] a practice that has continued since that time. An additional detached burial ground was added in 1625 at what is nowChristchurch Gardens.
Between 1734 and 1738, the north-west tower was rebuilt to designs byJohn James; at the same time, the whole structure was encased inPortland stone. Both the eastern and the western porch were added later, withJ. L. Pearson as architect. In 1878, the church's interior was greatlyrestored and altered to its current appearance bySir George Gilbert Scott, although manyTudor features were retained.[8]
In 1863, during preliminary explorations preparing for this restoration, Scott found several doors overlaid with what was believed to be human skin. After doctors had examined this skin, Victorian historians theorized that the skin might have been that of William the Sacrist, who organized a gang that, in 1303, robbed theKing of the equivalent of, in modern currency, $100 million (seeRichard of Pudlicott). It was a complex scheme, involving several gang members disguised as monks planting bushes on the palace. After the stealthy burglary six months later, the loot was concealed in these bushes. The historians believed that William the Sacrist was flayed alive as punishment and his skin was used to make these royal doors, perhaps situated initially at nearby Westminster Palace.[9] Subsequent study revealed that the skins were bovine in origin, not human.
By the 1970s, the number of people living nearby was in the hundreds. Ecclesiastical responsibility for the parish was reallocated to neighbouring parishes by the Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret Westminster Act 1972, and the church was brought under the authority of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey, ceasing to be a parish church.[1]
In July 2020, it was announced, without any consultation, that regular Sunday worship at the church would cease, and the choir was disbanded.[10] Members of the disbanded congregation launched a petition, which garnered more than 1700 signatures, and the regular community felt that The Abbey’s services are not intimate, nor do they invite participation, being quite formal. The Abbey, lacking a regular congregation and is mostly made up of tourists was felt to be profoundly different in spirit to the worshiping community at St Margaret's, which consisted of 60-120 regular worshipers. The cessation of regular worship was lamented in the press,[11] As of 2025, a weekly sung eucharist has been restarted on Sunday evenings.[12]
An annual new year service for theCoptic Orthodox Church in Britain takes place in the church in October, and in 2016Bishop Angaelos gave the sermon.[13]
The Rector of St Margaret's is often acanon of Westminster Abbey.[14]
Notable windows include the east window of 1509 ofFlemishstained glass, created to commemorate the betrothal ofCatherine of Aragon toHenry VIII.[15] This has had a chequered history. It was given by Henry VII toWaltham Abbey in Essex, and at the Dissolution of the Monasteries the last Abbot sent it to a private chapel atNew Hall, Essex. That came into the possession ofThomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, the father ofAnne Boleyn, thenThomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, nextGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, after himOliver Cromwell, from whom it reverted to thesecond Duke of Buckingham, nextGeneral Monk, Duke of Albemarle, and after himJohn Olmius, then Mr Conyers of Copt Hall, Essex, whose son sold the window to the parish of St Margaret's in 1758, for 400guineas. The money came from a grant of £4,000, which parliament had made to the parish that year for the renovation of the church and the rebuilding of the chancel.[16]
Other windows commemorateWilliam Caxton, England's first printer, who was buried at the church in 1491,Sir Walter Raleigh, executed in Old Palace Yard[17] and then also buried in the church in 1618, the poetJohn Milton, a parishioner of the church, andAdmiral Robert Blake.
The Victorian glass that once filled the eight bays of the south aisle was destroyed by enemy action during theSecond World War. In 1966, all eight windows were provided with new glass designed byJohn Piper and made by his longtime collaboratorPatrick Reyntiens. Piper's unified scheme filled each window with an uncompromisingly modern abstract design, intended to create a "total impression of living radiance, in shades of silvery grey predominantly with splashes of pale greens, yellows and blues in varied density, to filter the daylight." The new windows were dedicated on 15 January 1967 in memory ofCanon Carnegie and his wife, Peter Kemp-Welch, Clarence Fletcher and Richard Costain.[18]
As well as marrying its own parishioners, the church has long been a popular venue for society weddings, as Members of Parliament, peers, and officers of the House of Lords and House of Commons can choose to be married in it. Notable weddings include:
Other notable weddings include some of theBright Young People.[25]
On Easter day 1555 in the reign ofMary I a Protestant ex-Benedictine monk,William Flower inflicted wounds to the administerer of the sacrament. He repented for the injuries but would not repent his motive which was rejection of the doctrine oftransubstantiation. He was thus sentenced for heresy and a week later severed of his hand and burned at the stake outside the church.
During theFirst World War,Edward Lyttelton, headmaster ofEton, gave a sermon in the church on the theme of "loving your enemies", promoting the view that any post-war treaty with Germany should be a just one and not vindictive. 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.[36]
Until 2019, the treble choristers for St Margaret's were supplied byWestminster Under School. In September 2023, a new choir for girls aged 11 to 17 was formed, to sing for regular liturgical services alongside the professional singers of the St Margaret's Consort.
The church also hosted the first performance by theUK Parliament Choir underSimon Over in 2000.
An organ was installed in 1806 byJohn Avery. The current organ is largely built byJ. W. Walker & Sons Ltd. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[37]
Mackenzie Walcott lists the following asofficiating clergymen:[38]
Under the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1840, this rectory was annexed to the canonry of Westminster Abbey then held byHenry Hart Milman, such that he and his successors as Canon would be Rectorex officio.[42] This arrangement continued until 1978. The Rector was often (and continuously from 1972 to 2010) also theChaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons.[43]
†Rector died in post
Organists who have played at St Margaret's include:
Directors of Music at St Margaret's have included Richard Hickox, Simon Over, Aidan Oliver and (currently) Greg Morris.
William Hartley Carnegie Canon of Westminster and Rector of St Margaret's 1913–1936. Sub Dean 1919–1936. Born 27 February 1859. Died 18 October 1936. ...
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