Despite being literally overshadowed by the bulk of Westminster Abbey just to the south, St Margaret’s Church is one of London’s most interesting religious buildings.
The Parish church of the Palace of Westminster, St Margaret’s was completed in 1523 – it’s tower is a little younger, at just 226 years old. Both William Caxton (the inventor of the printing press) and John Milton were regular worshippers here, and its most famous burial can be found just below the altar – the tomb of the gallant Sir Walter Raleigh.
On three sides the church is a riot of colourful old stained glass windows, with the most notable scene celebrating the betrothal of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon. Unfortunately bomb damage stripped the building of some of these ancient artworks, and so the northern side is dominated by what I find to be a rather depressing modern display of subdued panels of colour – unfortunately there’s none of the joy of Coventry Cathedral’s superb 1960s windows here…
St Margaret’s has several unique features, with the most striking being the blue sundials picked out in gold which occupy each of the church tower’s four sides – one wonders whether the church authorities looked up at the huge clock faces of the Palace of Westminster’s tallest tower and decided that they wouldn’t even attempt to compete. On a sunny day it’s relatively easy to use these to tell the time – there’s even a helpful plaque at the base of the tower which explains how you should read them to compensate for the period in the year when we’re not on Greenwich Mean Time.
Just outside the main doors, a plaque reveals the details of a rather sordid tale which dates from the time of Oliver Cromwell. In the year that Charles II was restored to the throne, the bodies of twenty-three prominent supporters of the Parliamentarians were disinterred from Westminster Abbey and reburied in the churchyard of St Margaret’s, although that’s nothing compared to the fate that befell the remains of Cromwell himself…
Now unfortunately I am unable to share any images of the church’s lavish interior – it’s one of those buildings where they absolutely forbid you from photographing anything…