Church Of Saint Margaret

The Church of St. Margaret is a parish church with a west tower dating to the 14th century and a nave from the 15th century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1864. The tower is constructed of brick, while the nave is of carstone and ragstone with ashlar dressings. The chancel incorporates carstone, ashlar, and brick, all covered by lead roofs.

The west tower is three-stage and externally undivided, with stepped diagonal west buttresses. It features an arched, wave-moulded west door below a triangular-headed statuary niche. A chamfered lancet window is set into the south ringing chamber, and two-light ogee and cusped belfry windows are at the top. The tower is crowned with a crenellated parapet, finished with stone coping. A gabled brick south porch has flanking side buttresses. The porch’s statuary niches are set within engaged pinnacles, flanked by an arched doorway with a hood mould resting on weathered animal stops. Two-light cusped side windows are present. Inside the porch, a barrel vault is supported on four ogee-moulded arched ribs. The double wave-moulded inner doorway leads into the nave. The porch itself dates to the 15th century and was restored in 1861.

The nave has stepped buttresses and a rebuilt parapet. The nave windows are of three lights with 15th-century panel tracery beneath pointed segmental heads. Two windows are on the south side, and three are on the north. The chancel has two transomed windows of two lights with panel tracery between stepped buttresses and angle buttresses to the east. The upper chancel walls and parapet are of brick. Three-light chancel windows and one two-light north window feature panel tracery. A gabled vestry abuts the north chancel wall.

Inside, the tower arch is double-chamfered, with the mouldings dying into responds. The double-chamfered chancel arch mouldings rest on corbels. The nave roof has chamfered principals dropping to wall posts on corbels, with one tier of chamfered butt purlins and a ridge piece. One tie beam is at the east and west ends; the latter is dated 1742. A polygonal pulpit from the early 17th century has arcaded panels and a frieze of foliage patterns. The chancel roof has plain principals, one tier of butt purlins, and a ridge piece. A marble wall monument on the chancel’s south wall commemorates the Forster family (dated 1742) and is signed by J. Fellows of Lynn (John Fellows, active 1714-1742). This monument features a shouldered inscription panel flanked by fluted Ionic pilasters, a coat of arms in the apron, and a black marble obelisk on the entablature behind three urns. An octagonal font dates to 1835.