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Church of St. Margaret, Westminster

Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church*
UNESCO World Heritage Site

St Margaret's Church, Westminster
State Party Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type Cultural
Criteria i, ii, iv
Reference 426
Region Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription 1987  (11th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
Region as classified by UNESCO.

Ordnance Survey Grid ReferenceTQ302796


The Anglican church of St Margaret, Westminster, historically part of the hundred of Ossulstone in the county of Middlesex[1],is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the parish church[2] of the British Houses of Parliament in London.It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch[3].


Originally founded in the 12th century by Benedictine monks, so that local people who lived in the area around the Abbey[4] could worship separately at their own simpler parish church , it was rebuilt from 1486 to 1523. It became the parish of the Palace of Westminster in 1614, when the Puritans of the 17th century, unhappy with the highly liturgical Abbey, chose to hold Parliamentary services in the more 'suitable' St Margaret's[5], a practice that 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[6], 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[7], 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[8] and then also buried in the church in 1618, and the poet John Milton, a parishioner of the church. The collector Henry Constantine Jennings is also buried there[9] .


The church has been a common venue for 'society' weddings, including those of Samuel Pepys[10] and Sir Winston Churchill[11]. The ensemble of St Margaret's, the Palace of Westminster, and Westminster Abbey is a World Heritage Site.

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References

    Coordinates: 51°30′00″N, 0°07′37″W


     
     
     

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