St Margaret's Church, Rochester is now a Chapel of Ease within the parish of St Peter with St Margaret, Rochester. Previously it was the parish church of St Margaret's Without (that is, outside the city walls of Rochester). Thorpe records it as having previously been called St Margaret's in Suthgate. The building is a Grade II* listed building.
The first record of St Margaret's is in an 1108 charter of Bishop Gundulf. From the time of Bishop Gundulph until the appointment of William Talvez in 1272 as Vicar, St. Margaret's was a chapel of the parish of St. Nicholas. During the reign of King Richard I (1157–1199), bishop Gilbert de Glanville gave the church to his hospital in Strood. After several appeals to the pope the monks of Rochester regained control of it in 1255. The early vicars, up to 1401, received only a yearly stipend from the convent. A settlement in that year endowed the church and established a vicarage and lands for the support of it. In 1488 the convent finally relinquished control, the bishop reserving to himself episcopal rights. In 1540, during the reformation, the church was surrendered into the King's hands and subsequently settled on the newly founded Dean and Chapter of Rochester.
The earliest, and only medieval, part of the building is the tower which was either constructed or restored in 1465. The medieval church consisted of a nave and two chancels to the south of the nave, of this nothing remains. During the reign of Charles II of England (de facto 1660–1685) a coronet "set round with precious stones" was dug up in the churchyard. It was supposed locally that a Saxon King had been buried there.
The medieval church became inadequate for the growing population and in 1823 rebuilding started. The nave was complete the following year, the original chancel, tower and side chapels being retained. With the exception of the tower the medieval buildings were demolished a few years later and by 1840 the basic fabric of the present building was complete. A new East window was installed in 1872.
Internally the 1840 triple-decker pulpit was lowered and moved in 1872, as were the box pews from the nave. At the same time the west end gallery was removed and the original barrel organ replaced with a small organ at the East of the South aisle built by George Holdich of London.[6] This organ was not to last for long, for in 1877 it was replaced by the current organ which necessitated removing the gallery above it. A new reredos and altar were added in the early 20th Century.
Following amalgamation of the parishes of St Margaret and St Peter, St Margaret's again became a chapel of ease. Severe damage to the roof in the storms of 1987 and 1990 added to existing consideration of its closure. However local efforts have kept the building viable and over £100,000 has been spent on internal improvements.
There is a ring of eight bells with the tenor weighing 9 long cwt 2 qr 8 lb tuned to G flat hung in the English style of full circle ringing. Five bells were recorded in 1552 but the earliest extant bell is from 1621. This is currently number 6 but was then the third of five. Three years later the number 7 bell (then the fourth) was recast. In 1761 the 4 and 8 (then treble and tenor) were recast. In 1790 number 5 (then the second) was recast and a new treble added to make a six bell ring. However Hasted records five bells in 1798 which was the position before the 1790 recasting and augmentation. In 1884 the 4 and 8 (then two and six) were again recast. Finally in 1896 two new trebles were added to make the existing ring of eight.
For the latter quarter of the 20th century the bells were unringable, but a major project in 2005-6 saw the bells removed, retuned (at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry) and rehung in a new frame. They are now rung from the ground floor instead of the 1960 ringing chamber.
The co-ords will take you to some steps at the side of the church.
James Harker Martin died ABth May CDEF.
Thomas Etherington, GHrd February aged JK
You are looking for a magnetic 1.5ml container a short walk away.
N51 22. B+E C+D J-A
E0 29. E*G F*K F+H
The checksum for A to K is 34.
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