Church of St Margaret

Church of St Margaret

Built between 1883 and 1893, this is a substantial urban church designed by local architect H.G.W. Drinkwater in the architectural style of circa 1300-1330. It was constructed as a chapel of ease to Saints Philip and James to serve the rapidly expanding population of north Oxford from the early 19th century onwards, replacing a mission room that had stood in Hayfield Road.

The main body of the church is constructed of coursed rubble stone. The plan comprises a small chancel, an aisled and clerestoried nave of imposing height, a south chapel, and vestry and choir vestry to the north-east. In 1898-1899, the more distinguished architect G.F. Bodley was engaged to design a south-west tower in ashlar stone. Only the lower storey, a porch, was completed before the tower project was abandoned.

The exterior presents an austere appearance, with the rubble stone walls giving the church a barn-like quality despite its considerable scale and lofty proportions. The ashlar porch by Bodley stands in marked contrast to the rougher stonework of the main structure.

The interior reflects the church's High Church tradition, particularly at its east end. The rood screen is by Bodley and his partner Cecil Hare, executed in stages: the gates date to 1896, the rood to 1907, and the cresting to 1915. The same partnership designed a small pulpit with tester. A dramatic wooden reredos, featuring statues and a Nativity scene, together with an aumbry with gothic doors and painted interior, dates to 1908 and is the work of Cecil Hare. A less accomplished wooden reredos in the north aisle was created by F.C. Howard around 1930. A baptistry screen dates to 1913, and the font has an elaborate timber cover also by Hare.

The church contains a substantial collection of late 19th and early 20th-century stained glass. The earliest windows are in the clerestory, some by Burlison and Grylls. F.C. Eden designed all the Lady Chapel windows, the east window in the chancel, and three later windows in the north aisle. Throughout its history, the interior has been furnished with seats rather than benches.

The attached Vicarage, also designed by Drinkwater around 1884, is separately listed at Grade II.