St Margaret's Church, Rottingdean facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Margaret, Rottingdean |
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The church from the southwest
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| 50°48′24″N 0°03′27″W / 50.8068°N 0.0575°W | |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | www.stmargaret.org.uk |
| History | |
| Dedication | Margaret of Antioch |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Rottingdean, St Margaret |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Brighton |
| Archdeaconry | Chichester |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Margaret's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Rottingdean, England. It is located in the city of Brighton and Hove. This church is the main church for the Rottingdean area. It became part of Brighton in 1928. Some parts of the church are very old, dating back to the 13th century. It is also a Grade II* listed building, which means it is a very important historical building.
Contents
A Look at St Margaret's Church History
The church stands in the northeast part of the Green, which is the oldest area of Rottingdean. People have worshipped here since the Saxon period. It is not clear if any Saxon parts of the church still exist today.
Building the Church: From Normans to Today
The Normans started building a cross-shaped church in the early 12th century. But its tower, which was where the Saxon church's main altar area was, fell down during construction. This destroyed the new altar area and the side parts of the church. However, the main body of the church, called the nave, survived.
By the early 13th century, the altar area was rebuilt. The nave was also made longer with four new sections. These were added to the south side of the church. But this part stopped being used after 1377. This happened when French invaders attacked the church and nearby buildings. They had landed on the coast close by. The damage to the west wall meant it had to be rebuilt at the same time. The south side was then blocked off.
The church stayed mostly the same until a big repair project in 1856. This work was done by Sir George Gilbert Scott. A new south side with three sections was built. Scott moved an old window from the original side and put it into one of the new walls. The wall of the altar area was also partly rebuilt then. Earlier in the 1800s, enclosed seating areas and a balcony were added. Scott removed the balcony during his repairs.
In the 1900s, more parts were added. A porch was built at the west entrance in 1908. Small rooms for clergy, called vestries, were added in the 1970s. These were designed to match the old style of the church. A new balcony was also built in 1908 at the west end of the nave. This new balcony holds the organ. The original balcony was on the south side. The bottom part of the old Norman font was found in the vicarage garden. A copy was made in 1910, and the original part was put on display in the church.
Famous People Connected to St Margaret's
Lucy Ridsdale married Stanley Baldwin in this church in 1892. Lucy was the daughter of Edward Ridsdale, who lived in a house on the village green. Stanley Baldwin later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times. The Baldwins gave a special chair to the church in 1942. This chair is still in the altar area.
Sir Edward Burne-Jones designed many of the beautiful stained-glass windows in the church. He lived in a house on the village green for 18 years until he passed away in 1898. He was the uncle of the famous author and poet Rudyard Kipling. Kipling moved to a nearby house in 1897. He wrote many of his famous Just So Stories while living there.
In the early 1900s, a strange offer came from the developers of a private cemetery in California, USA. They wanted to buy St Margaret's Church. Their plan was to take it apart stone by stone, ship it to the United States, and rebuild it there. A price was offered, but the church refused to sell. So, in the 1940s, drawings were made, and an exact copy of the church was built instead. This copy was named the Church of the Recessional. It was built to remember Kipling's poem "Recessional".
St Margaret's Church Architecture
The church is built from flint stones. It has stone details and a tiled roof. The flint used in the 19th-century repairs is more evenly placed than the older, more random flint walls. The main entrance is at the west end, facing the village green. You reach it through a special covered gate called a lychgate. This gate was built in 1897 to remember Revd Arthur Thomas, who was the vicar for 47 years.
The entrance door has two strong supports called buttresses on either side. On top of the steep roof at the west end is a small cross. A large clock is built into the wall below it.
The main parts of the church – the nave, the altar area, and the tower – are all original. There are many windows with three or four curved sections, and tall, narrow windows. Many of these have stained glass. Most of them were designed by Edward Burne-Jones. The east wall has three tall, narrow windows and a quatrefoil (a four-leaf shape). These windows were put in in 1893 to celebrate Burne-Jones's daughter Margaret's marriage. They show the archangels Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael.
St Margaret's Church Today
St Margaret's was officially listed as a Grade II* building on October 13, 1952. This means it is a very important historical building. As of 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings in Brighton and Hove. The church is still actively used for worship today. It is the only Anglican church in the Rottingdean area. The church covers the whole of Rottingdean, reaching to the areas of Ovingdean and Saltdean. It also includes the coast road up to Roedean and the surrounding downland areas.
Church services are held on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays for the local community. On Wednesdays, services are held for students at St Margaret's Church of England Primary School. You can even download sermons as podcasts.
Burials and Memorials at St Margaret's
The ashes of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, the famous Pre-Raphaelite artist, are buried in the churchyard. His wife Georgiana and their granddaughter, the novelist Angela Thirkell, are also buried there. The old churchyard was made bigger in 1883, 1905, and 1920.
The churchyard also holds the graves of other notable people. These include Scottish novelist William Black and the blues guitarist Gary Moore, who passed away in 2011. The churchyard also contains 14 Commonwealth war graves. These are for nine British service members from World War I (including one unknown sailor) and four from World War II.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Brighton and Hove
- List of places of worship in Brighton and Hove
