The Guild Church of St Margaret Pattens, London (01)
The Guild Church of St Margaret of Pattens: The dedication is to Margaret of Antioch
Situated in Rood Lane, Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1HS. St Margaret’s is Church of England and was first recorded in 1067, a year after ‘The Battle of Hastings’. Originally built in wood, it was rebuilt in stone at some undetermined date. It was neglected and fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1530 but by 1538 it was rebuilt.
Unfortunately it was destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666 and it wasn’t until 1687 that it was rebuilt but it was worth the wait as Sir Christopher Wren was the architect. The exterior is notable for the spire which is 200ft tall. It was Wren’s third highest and the only one that he designed in the ‘Medieval Style’. The interior of the church is a basic rectangle but it does have some very unusual furnishings. It possesses the only canopied pews in London, they are at the back of the church close to the entrance. These were intended for the churchwardens. There is also a punishment box carved with a head of the devil, this is where wrongdoers would sit during the mass.
It was one of the few churches that escaped damage in ‘The Blitz’. In 1954 it ceased to be a parish church and became one of the Guild church. There is no Sunday service but there are regular week-day services.
The name ‘patten’ derives from wooden-soled overshoes that were worn to prevent people from ruining their own footware because of the poor state of the roads (mud, horse manure and other excrement tipped from the building, there was no sewerage facilities as we have today). There is a small museum inside the church, with display cases showing the history and products of the Pattenmakers and the Basketmakers. Since the 15th century the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers have been associated with St. Margaret’s and there are panels on the south wall that show past masters. The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers also have close links to St. Margaret’s and there are similar panels to commemorate their past masters.
Finally, in one corner of the church is a closed cabinet where there is written ‘For God, King & Country’ and there is also a dedication on the bottom of the cabinet. Open the doors and inside are memorial plaques to the submariners of a ‘K4’ class submarine that went down in a tragic accident of the coast of Fife in September 1918 with the loss of 105 men. There are also 12 other WWI casualties not connected to the sinking that also appear on the memorial. One of my photographs shows the whole story.
This is the third and final posting.
The Guild Church of St Margaret Pattens, London (01)
The Guild Church of St Margaret of Pattens: The dedication is to Margaret of Antioch
Situated in Rood Lane, Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1HS. St Margaret’s is Church of England and was first recorded in 1067, a year after ‘The Battle of Hastings’. Originally built in wood, it was rebuilt in stone at some undetermined date. It was neglected and fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1530 but by 1538 it was rebuilt.
Unfortunately it was destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666 and it wasn’t until 1687 that it was rebuilt but it was worth the wait as Sir Christopher Wren was the architect. The exterior is notable for the spire which is 200ft tall. It was Wren’s third highest and the only one that he designed in the ‘Medieval Style’. The interior of the church is a basic rectangle but it does have some very unusual furnishings. It possesses the only canopied pews in London, they are at the back of the church close to the entrance. These were intended for the churchwardens. There is also a punishment box carved with a head of the devil, this is where wrongdoers would sit during the mass.
It was one of the few churches that escaped damage in ‘The Blitz’. In 1954 it ceased to be a parish church and became one of the Guild church. There is no Sunday service but there are regular week-day services.
The name ‘patten’ derives from wooden-soled overshoes that were worn to prevent people from ruining their own footware because of the poor state of the roads (mud, horse manure and other excrement tipped from the building, there was no sewerage facilities as we have today). There is a small museum inside the church, with display cases showing the history and products of the Pattenmakers and the Basketmakers. Since the 15th century the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers have been associated with St. Margaret’s and there are panels on the south wall that show past masters. The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers also have close links to St. Margaret’s and there are similar panels to commemorate their past masters.
Finally, in one corner of the church is a closed cabinet where there is written ‘For God, King & Country’ and there is also a dedication on the bottom of the cabinet. Open the doors and inside are memorial plaques to the submariners of a ‘K4’ class submarine that went down in a tragic accident of the coast of Fife in September 1918 with the loss of 105 men. There are also 12 other WWI casualties not connected to the sinking that also appear on the memorial. One of my photographs shows the whole story.
This is the third and final posting.