Church of St Margaret, Westminster

The Church of St Margaret in Westminster is a parish church with foundations dating back to the 11th or 12th century. It was rebuilt in the early 16th century, with the nave and aisles constructed around 1504, the west tower beginning in 1515, and the chancel completed around 1518. The work was carried out by the masons Robert Stowell and Henry Redman from Westminster Abbey.

The church underwent extensive restoration in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the rebuilding of most of the tower from 1735 to 1737 by John James, the addition of a southeast vestry in 1778, a west porch designed by J.L. Pearson, and the projecting east end of the chancel completed in 1905 by G.G. Scott. The exterior features Portland stone refacing and renewed tracery, with a late Perpendicular style. It has crenellated parapets on the aisles and a tall clerestory with plain parapets. The polygonal buttressed tower includes large framed Perpendicular bell openings, a quatrefoil frieze, and panelled battlements.

Inside, the nave and chancel are not separated, forming a single eight-bay vessel with slender shafted piers supporting a two-centred arcade with traceried spandrels and a clerestory above. The east window contains fine Gothic-Renaissance transitional Flemish stained glass, likely part of Katharine of Aragon's dowry and intended for Henry VII's Chapel. The west window was created in 1882 by Clayton and Bell, while the south aisle's west window was also made in 1882 by Henry Holiday. The north aisle features a west window from 1888 by Clayton and Bell, two north windows from 1888 and 1891 by Edward Frampton, and abstract glass from 1966 by John Piper. The church houses a good collection of monuments.