St. Margaret, Westminster

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Photoblog: 23 May 2008

This evening. I'm afraid you'll just have to imagine the sounds of the bell ringing practice.

On the topic of St Margaret's, Wikipedia has this to say:

The Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the parish church of the British Houses of Parliament in London. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch.

Originally founded in the 12th century by Benedictine monks, so that local people who lived in the area around the Abbey could worship separately at their own simpler parish church, and historically part of the hundred of Ossulstone in the county of Middlesex, St. Margaret's 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, a practice that has since continued.

The North-West tower was rebuilt by John James from 1734 to 1738; at the same time, the whole structure was encased in Portland stone. Both the eastern and the western porch 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, although 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 collector Henry Constantine Jennings is also buried there.

The church has been a common venue for "society" weddings, including those of Samuel Pepys and Sir Winston Churchill. The ensemble of St. Margaret's, the Palace of Westminster, and Westminster Abbey is a World Heritage Site.St. Margaret's has a lengthy musical tradition; Edward Purcell, son of Henry Purcell, was organist from 1726 to 1740.