St. Margaret's, Westminster
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Missing image StMargaretsChurch.jpg St. Margaret's Church Westminster |
Missing image St.margarets.church.westminster.arp.750pix.jpg St. Margarets Church, Westminster, seen from the London Eye observation wheel. The church (with three red buses directly in front of it) nestles between the Houses of Parliament (foreground) and Westminster Abbey (background). |
The Anglican church of St. Margaret's, Westminster is the parish church of the British Houses of Parliament, nestled in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square.
Originally founded in the 12th century as the parish church of the area around the Abbey, it was rebuilt from 1486 to 1523, and became the parish of the Palace of Westminster in 1614, when the Puritans of the 17th century, unhappy with the highly ceremonial Abbey, chose to hold Parliamentary services in the more 'suitable' St. Margaret's, a practice which has since continued.
The north-west tower was rebuilt by John James from 1734 to 1738, as well as the whole structure being encased in Portland Stone. Both eastern and western porches were added later by J L Pearson. The church's interior was greatly restored and altered to its current appearance by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1877, though many of the Tudor features have remained.
Notable features include the eastern window of 1509 of Flemish stained glass, created to remember the betrothal of Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur, elder brother of Henry VIII. Other windows commemorate William Caxton, Britain's first printer, who was buried at the church in 1491, Sir Walter Raleigh, executed in Old Palace Yard and then also buried in the church in 1618, and the poet John Milton, a parishioner of the church.
The church has been a common venue for 'society' weddings, including those of Samuel Pepys and Sir Winston Churchill.