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St Margaret's Church or the Church of St Margaret of Antioch is a Church of England
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities ...
in Barking, East London. The church is a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
built on a site dating back to the 13th century within the grounds of
Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, f ...
, the ruins of a former royal monastery that was originally established in the 7th century. The building is dedicated to
Margaret the Virgin Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr ( grc-gre, Ἁγία Μαρίνα) in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in the Western Rite Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic Church and Anglicanism, ...
.


History


Medieval

It originated as a chapel for local people within the grounds of
Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, f ...
, to the south of the Abbey church. Its oldest part is the chancel, built early in the 13th century during the reign of King John. The building is said to have been made into a parish church in 1300 by Anne de Vere, abbess of the Abbey. Until the 1390s Barking formed a
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...
, held by the Abbey and divided into two vicarages known as 'Northstrete' (probably funded by income from the Ilford area) and 'Southstrete' (serving the Abbey church). The area suffered severe flooding in the late 14th century, leading to financial difficulties and a merger of the two vicarages from 1398 onwards. A chaplain from the Abbey led worship. The present bell tower was added late in the 15th century.


Reformation

It remained a parish church when the Abbey was dissolved and the rectory and
advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
devolved to the Crown, who initially leased it to the widow Mary Blackenhall for 21 years in 1540. In 1557 these were bought by Robert Thomas and Andrew Salter using money from the estate of William Pownsett of nearby Loxford, and granted to
All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
, in return for the vicar praying for the souls of Pownsett, his parents and benefactors every Sunday, giving 6 shillings and 8 pence amongst twenty poor people annually on the anniversary of Pownsett's death, paying the College an annual sum to maintain two poor scholars and only being absent from the parish 80 or fewer days a year. The College presented when the next vacancy occurred in 1560, but at the following one the Crown contested its right, though this was overturned via a lawsuit. Sir John Petre reconfirmed the 1557 grant in 1594, but dropped the requirement to pray for the dead. The right is now shared between
All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
, the
Bishop of Chelmsford The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is Guli Francis ...
(in whose diocese it now falls) and the church's churchwardens.


17th century to 20th century

The church contains several memorials, including one to the 17th-century politician Charles Montagu. The explorer
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
married Elizabeth Batts in the church on 21 December 1762. Ten years later the nave, chancel and sanctuary all had their ceilings plastered, though this was removed from the nave ceiling in 1842. Charles Winmill and George Jack were involved in a restoration of the interior between 1929 and 1936. The building was
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1954. An extension was added along the south side late in the 20th century to provide an office, bookshop and refectory.


Present day

In the late 1970s the parish became part of a team parish covering Barking with Christ Church and St Patrick's. On 1 January 2017, St Patrick's and Christchurch each gained their own parishes, taken from the team Parish area, leaving St Margaret's with a smaller Parish. St Margaret's parish is unusual in having three
churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish ...
s rather than two. In 2007, two small stones from remains of the old medieval
London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...
were joined together in a sculpture in front of St Margaret's church facing the
Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, f ...
ruins as part of several public artworks placed in Barking Town Centre by artist Joost Van Santen. The church is both
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
and
open evangelical An open evangelical attempts to uphold evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both individuals and institutions. Uses Open ...
in tradition.


Notable clergy

Many vicars of Barking have gone on to become bishops. Hugh Jermyn was
Bishop of Colombo Bishop of Colombo may refer to: * Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglica ...
1871–1875 and Bishop of Brechin 1875–1903, and Primus of Scotland 1886–1901. Robin Smith, a curate from 1962, later became Bishop of Hertford.


Vicars of North Barking

* 1315-????: Martinus * 1328-????: ???? De Ansi * 1335-???: ???? De Borton * 1373-????: Hugo Smith * 1385-????: Thomas Bene * 1395-????: John Sacombe


Vicars of South Barking

* 1331-????: ??? De Cishampton * 1335-????: ??? De Hochetote * 1373-????: ??? ?Deautine/?Beautine


Vicars of Barking

* 1398-????: John Makewye * 1403-????: Stephen Chamberlayne * 1438-????: John Willoghby * 1439-????: John Greening * 1462-????: Robert Walesis * 1486-????: Galf King * 1505-????: John Frothingham * 1511-????: John Long * 1524-1560: John Gregyll * 1560-????: Richard Tirwitt * 1584-????: Edward Edworth * 1587-????: Richard Wignall * 1620-????: Richard Hall * c. 1649-1653: William Amys * until 1654: Jonathan Bowles * until 1660: Benjamin Way * 1660-1689: Thomas Cartwright; also
Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
from 1686. * 1689 - ??: Leopold Finch * 1697 - ??: John Chisenhale * ?-?: Thomas Macken Fiddes * ????-????: Lewis Owen * ????-????: William Stephens * before 1748: Peter Walkden * 1748 - ??: Francis Morice * 1751-??: Savage Tyndal * 1782- ???? Christopher Musgrave * ????-????: Edmund Isham * c. 1785: Peter Rashleigh * 1836-????: Robert Lidell * c 1850 - ????: Henry Jeremiah Dyson * c 1860 - ????: Henry Fortescue Seymour * 1870-1871: Hugh Willoughby Jermyn * 1871-1882: Alfred Blomfield * 1882-1888: John Richardson * 1888–1895:
Hensley Henson Herbert Hensley Henson (8 November 1863 – 27 September 1947) was an Anglican priest, bishop, scholar and controversialist. He was Bishop of Hereford from 1918 to 1920 and Bishop of Durham from 1920 to 1939. The son of a zealous member ...
; later
Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Cathedral Church of Sain ...
and
Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Church of England, Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Pau ...
* 1895-1903: Percy Montague Wathen * 1904-?1915: John Warmington Eisdell * 1925–1930: Leslie Hunter; later
Bishop of Sheffield The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York. A similar title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. John Quirk, the only Bishop suffragan of Sh ...
* 1947–1959: William Chadwick; later Bishop of Barking * 1959–1965: Denis Wakeling; later Bishop of Southwell * 1965–1977: James Roxburgh; later Bishop of Barking * Patrick Allen Blair * Paul Richard Thomas * John Parsons * Gordon Tarry * 2013–2019:
Trevor Mwamba Musonda Trevor Selwyn Mwamba (born 1958), known as Trevor Mwamba, is an Anglican bishop. He was consecrated Bishop of Botswana on 6 February 2005. He tendered his resignation as Bishop of Botswana on 30 September 2012 – the day on which Botswa ...
; previously Bishop of Botswana * 2021 - date: Mark Adams


References

External Links:
St Margaret's Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barking, Saint Margaret's Church Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham 13th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in London Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham