St Margaret's Church, Ipswich facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Margaret's Church, Ipswich
St Margaret's Church, Ipswich
St Margaret's Church as seen from St Margaret's Green
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OS grid reference	TM 166 441
Location	Ipswich, Suffolk
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
History
Founded	c.1300
Dedication	St Margaret of Antioch
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	19 December 1951
Architectural type	Church
Style	Perpendicular Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Flint with stone dressings

St Margaret's Church is a very old church located in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It was built around the year 1300 by a group of monks called Augustinian canons. They built it to serve the growing number of people living in Ipswich. The church and many of its early visitors were just outside the old city walls, north of medieval Ipswich.

The main part of the church building dates back to the 1400s. However, the tall tower was rebuilt much later, in the 1800s.

Inside St Margaret's Church

The Roof

The church has a special type of roof called a hammerbeam roof. This roof was built in the 1400s. Later, in the late 1600s, some beautiful paintings were added to the roof.

The Church Organ

The large organ in St Margaret's Church was bought in 1981. Before coming to Ipswich, it was in another church called Holy Trinity Church in Bedford. That church closed in 1974.

The organ was originally made by a company called J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd in 1859. When it was first built, it was tuned to a specific musical pitch called "Old Philharmonic pitch." However, when the organ was cleaned and repaired between 2012 and 2013, its tuning was changed to the modern standard pitch, known as A440.

Church Leadership

The Simeon Trustees have been involved with St Margaret's Church for many years. They help choose the ministers who lead the church. For example, in 1867, they appointed Samuel Garratt as the minister.

Past Ministers

Many different people have served as ministers (also called incumbents) at St Margaret's Church since the Priory of the Holy Trinity closed. Here is a list of some of them:

Gallery

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  St. Margaret's Church in 1977

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  A wedding at the church in 1989

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  View from Christchurch Park in 2009

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  A winter view of the church later that year

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  The inside of the church (the nave) in 2020