St Margaret's Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish church in the village of

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011 Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

deanery, although the church also serves the village of Badgers Mount. St Katharine's and St Margaret's came together in 1983 as a United Benefice under one parish priest. The pattern of services reflects the fact that it is two parishes working closely together.

History and architecture

St Margaret's is built across the road from the site of the original demolished

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

church, the only remaining sections of which include the

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

held inside the current church; these monuments date back to the mid-15th century. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

was built in 1855 by R. C. Hussey, and is described by

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

John Newman as having "flintwork

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

is laboriously galleted with flint flakes", and was originally built as a burial chapel. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the

lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing structures open on one or more sides (colloquially referred to as lean-tos in spite of being unattac ...

south

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

are combined under a single roof built by W. M. Teulon between 1880 and 1881. The south-west

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

, and is "picturesquely" grouped with the south-east gabled window and a large west

bell-gable The bell gable (, , ) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small hollow semi-circular arches where the church bells are ...

. The north aisle and

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

were built by St Aubyn and Wadling in 1897, and the outer north aisle was completed in 1992. The interior is unified, boasting "three-bay arcades with circular

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

, bold

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and deeply moulded red brick arches." The organ case was possibly provided by Teulon, and includes a canted front. The

stained glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

in the west of the nave were designed by Casolani and brought in from the old church in 1867. Those in the east chancel depict

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory () is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership change ...

, and were designed in the 1880s by Hardman & Co. The north aisle's windows were built by Morris & Co. in 1909, using designs by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

; those in the south aisle were designed by Marguerite Douglas-Thomson in 1950. Monuments present inside the church include a dedication to William Burys, who died in 1444 and is depicted in armour in 26 inch high

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

; William Petley, who died in 1528 and is depicted with his wife in a comparatively small brass; and Sir James Ashe, who died in 1733, his dedication presented in a white marble tablet, depicting cherubs at the top and bottom, and signed by Jonathan Barker - this is the latter's only known work. There is also a grave of a crusader at this church.

References

Sources

External links

Church history by Geoffrey KitchenerA Church Near You
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halstead, St Margaret's Church Church of England church buildings in Kent Diocese of Rochester Buildings and structures in Sevenoaks District

History and architecture

See also

References

Sources

External links