religious
Christopher Wren, 1687
Rood Lane, Eastcheap, EC3M 1HS
Take a guided tour of a beautiful example of a Wren church with unique features
Monument, Bank, Cannon Street, London Bridge, Mansion House
Cannon Street, Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street, London Bridge
Ramp for disabled access; disabled gender neutral toilet is fully accessible on ground floor. Tower only step access. Parking for two cars.
Guided/selfguided tour; access to Tower/roof by steps; plenty of seating; exhibition/access to Livery artefacts. Possible musical background
For at least 900 years a church dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch has stood on this site. At least three versions of the church were built; the previous one was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. Wren designed the present church which was built between 1684 and 1687. Two lead rain-water heads on the outside north wall have the date 1685. The neighbouring parish of St Gabriel Fen, whose church had also been destroyed in the Fire, was then united with St Margaret’s.
St Margaret’s tower and spire were built and finished by means of money provided by a new tax on coal entering the Port of London. The 200 foot spire is the only remaining example of Wren’s lead-covered timber spires, . The tower holds two refurbished bells, one of which dates from before the Great Fire of London.
The church is an example of pared back simplicity, built under the Stuarts but anticipating the Georgian era of large clear windows allowing light to flood in. Built of stone but with an interior wrapped in oak, it became the Guild church of the Pattenmakers (founded 1379) and the Basketmakers (1569) in 1954 and its walls record the Master Pattenmakers from 1670, and the Basketmaker Prime Wardens from 1922
The church has many interesting tombs and memorials bearing witness to local and national history and the fact that the church has been in the heart of the commercial City of London for centuries. It has unique canopied church wardens' pews, entablature by the Dutch Michael Rysbrack, wood carvings by the Anglo-Dutch Grinling Gibbons, a tondo attributed to Della Robbia, a painting by the Italian Carlo Maratta (1625-1713, restored 18th and 17th century swordrests, It also has a unique memorial to the K4 Submarine disaster in January 1918, when 105 sailors died on a naval exercise off the coast of Scotland. And it also has 18th century graffiti!
The church still continues 337 years after its current incarnation, to hold regular services and it has a standing amateur choir, which is rare in the City. It's a fully inclusive church and strives to be an important hub for the local community and aims to add to the social and cultural melting pot of the City
For Open House, access will be possible to parts of the Church not normally open to the public- the Inner and Outer Vestries, the Tower Suite housing the 300 year old Benefactors' Board, and part of the roof, together with guided tours if requested. Participants for the Tower Suite and roof will need to be able to use stairs, but the rest of the church is fully accessible.
