St Margaret's Church, Leicester

St Margaret's Church, Leicester
St Margaret's Church, Leicester
	View of west front and tower
	52°38′25″N 1°08′11″W / 52.64030°N 1.13625°W
Denomination	Church of England
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic
Churchmanship	Broad church
Website	https://www.stmargaretsleicester.com/
History
Dedication	Margaret of Antioch
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Leicester
Archdeaconry	Leicester
Parish	The Abbey
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Rt. Rev. Martyn Snow
Vicar(s)	Interregnum

500m
550yds

St Margaret's Church

St Margaret's Church is an ancient Anglican parish church situated on St Margaret's Way in Leicester, England. Described by John Leland as “the fairest parish church in Leicester” it is notable for its large and well lit 15th century chancel, and the imposing west tower with its peal of 14 bells.^[1] Nicholas Pevsner noted that the fan vaulted south porch and tower’s stair turret are unique examples among Leicestershire churches.^[2] It is a Grade I listed building.^[3]

History

Parish

First recorded in the Doomsday Survey in 1086, the parish community is at least nine hundred years old and dates back to before the Norman conquest.^[4] The church is situated just outside the northernmost corner of the ancient Roman city of Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum). The now completely lost city walls are marked by today’s Churchgate and Sanvey Gate which met in front of the church before the construction of St Margaret’s Way. At it’s hight the Parish of St Margaret covered most of north Leicester and held the chapelry of St Mary Magdalene, Knighton.^[4] Both the medieval parish Guild and the post-reformation St Margaret’s Vestry Committee were responsible for many of Leicester’s earliest charitable and welfare provisions.^[1] When the advowsons of the churches within Leicesters walls were granted to the Augustinian Canons of Leicester Abbey sometime after 1143, St Margaret’s alone remained in the hands of the Bishop of Lincoln.^[1] This perhaps reflects an earlier arrangement where the patronages of the cities churches were held by the Earl of Leicester rather than the Diocese of Lincoln. St Margaret’s was a Prebendal church and its vicar a Prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral at least as early as 1220.^[1] In 1541 during the reformation the prebend passed to the Diocese of Peterborough and it was finally dissolved in 1878 at which time a vast swath of its territory was divided into new parishes.^[4]

Architecture

Parts of the transept date from c. 1200, and parts of the aisles from the late 13th century. Most of the church was rebuilt in Perpendicular style c. 1444,^[5] under William Alnwick, the Bishop of Lincoln. The west tower, which is 108 feet (33 m) high, was built at that time.^[4] It contains a ring of 14 bells^[6] including a flat sixth.^[7] There was a Victorian restoration by George Gilbert Scott in 1860,^[4] and another in 1881 by George Edmund Street.^[5]

The church contains stained glass by Thomas Willement dating from the 1840s, and William Wailes of 1864.^[3]

Tombs

The alabaster effigy of John Penny dates from 1520, although his original tomb was replaced in 1846.^[8] He was the abbot of Leicester Abbey from 1496 to 1509,^[9] and subsequently Bishop of Carlisle.^[8]

The churchyard contains the 1765 tomb of Andrew Rollo, 5th Lord Rollo. The Doric, Grade II* listed structure is faced with slate relief sculptures.^[10]

Organ

The organ dates from 1773 but is now much enlarged. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.^[11]

Organists

1785–1845 Ann Valentine^[12]
1845–1897 George Augustus Löhr

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Nichols, John. History and Antiquities of the County of Leicestershire.
^ Pevsner, Nicholas. Buildings of England:Leicestershire and Rutland. p. 24. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Historic England. "Church of St Margaret (1074072)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "The ancient borough: St. Margaret's, A History of the County of Leicester: volume 4: The City of Leicester (1958)". British History Online. Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b Historic England. "LEICESTER CHURCH GATE SK 5805 (east side) 4/27 St Margaret's Church (1074072)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ Rounds and Call Changes on 14 at Leicester St Margaret; Youtube
^ Dove, R. H. (1982) A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain; 6th ed. Aldershot: Viggers; p. 65 (records 13 bells including a flat 6th)
^ ^a ^b Cocks, T. Y. "Penny, John (d. 1520)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Hoskins, W. G.; McKinley, R. A., eds. (1954). "Houses of Augustinian canons: Leicester abbey". A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 2 (Victoria County History). London. pp. 13–19. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
^ Historic England. "Tomb of Andrew Lord Rollo to the north east of St Margaret's Church (1250247)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
^ "The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR". Npor.org.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
^ Kroeger, Karl (2001). "Valentine, John". In Sadie, Stanley (ed.). New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. 26. London: Macmillan. pp. 207–8. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.