Church of St Margaret is a Grade II* listed building in the Chelmsford local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 April 1967. A Medieval Church.

Church of St Margaret

WRENN ID
ghost-keystone-sorrel
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Chelmsford
Constituency
Maldon MP: Sir John Whittingdale (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
10 April 1967
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St Margaret, Church Lane, Margaretting
OS grid reference
TL 665 004
Coordinates
51.67789, 0.40697
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Margaret is a flint and stone rubble church with Norman origins, but it was almost entirely rebuilt in the early to mid-15th century. It features a timber-framed, weatherboarded west tower with a shingled broach spire. The roofs of the nave, chancel, and aisle are tiled. The chancel underwent alterations in the 16th century, and the church was significantly restored in 1877. A section of the north wall, located east of the north porch, retains Norman work and includes Roman tiles.

Key architectural features include the 15th-century west tower and north porch. The tower is supported by ten posts with shores and cross bracing, similar to those found in churches at Stock, Navestock, and Blackmore in Essex. The lower stage of the tower is covered in vertical weatherboarding and has a hipped tiled roof, while the upper stage and broach spire are shingled. The north porch is adorned with cusped bargeboards and traceried side lights. Its doorway features a 4-centred arch with traceried spandrels, and the oak door dates from the same period, though it has been partly renewed.

Inside, the nave has a king post roof from the 15th century, while the chancel roof is from the 16th century. The chancel also contains a Tree of Jesse window made of 15th-century Flemish glass, incorporating fragments from earlier windows that were repositioned during the 1877 restoration. Notable fittings include a 15th-century octagonal font carved with emblems and a grotesque head, a carved alabaster wall monument to John Tanfield of Coptfold Hall dated 1625, a 16th-century brass memorial for Robert Sedge, his wife, and children from "Shenfield" (now known as "Killigrews"), and the lower part of a 15th-century rood screen. The belfry houses four bells, all dating from before the Reformation.

Local climate

Church of St Margaret sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 680 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 90% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 29 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 67% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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