Church of St Margaret

The Church of St Margaret is an early 15th-century church built of flint with stone dressings. It is considered the finest church of its date in the Borough and occupies a prominent position north of St Margaret’s Green, set back within a large churchyard. A section of the original 16th-century brick boundary wall extends along Soane Street, in front of the churchyard; details of this wall are described separately.

The west tower is battlemented and features ornamental flushwork panelling in the upper stage. A 18th-century octagonal clock, dated 1737, is set within a frame of pilasters and a pediment. The south porch is also battlemented, with three niches above the arched entrance. The main body of the church, the nave, comprises five bays with ten clerestory windows and an unusual parapet of crowstepped battlements with pinnacles. Decorated-style windows are visible on the aisles. A south transept is flanked by octagonal turrets topped with stone spires.

Inside, a fine 15th-century double hammer beam roof is present. The church also contains a 15th-century font carved with angles, a tomb to Edmund Withipoll (died 1575), the builder of Christchurch Mansion, and a tomb to Sir William Roskin (died 1512).

The church forms a group with several nearby buildings, including numbers 10 and 12, numbers 26 to 30 (even), numbers 21 and 23, and numbers 2 to 6 (even) on Bolton Lane.