St Margaret, Stanford Rivers
The parish church of St Margaret consists of nave, chancel, north porch (blocked), west porch, south vestry, and a west bell-turret with spire. There is a gallery beneath the turret. The walls are mostly of flint rubble with dressings of clunch and other stone. The upper part of the chancel is of brick. The church is faced externally with Roman cement. The roof is tiled.
The nave was built in the middle of the 12th century. The original semicircular arch of the south doorway can still be seen internally. Both north and south walls have two single-light round-headed windows of the 12th century, but in each case those nearest the west end have been blocked and are only visible from the outside. There is a similar blocked window in the west gable with exposed flintwork surrounding it. During the first half of the 14th century two threelight windows were inserted near the east end of the nave, one on the north and one on the south side.
The present chancel also dates from the first half of the 14th century. On its north side there is a contemporary window consisting of two trefoil and ogeeheaded traceried lights. The south wall has two similar windows with a blocked doorway, probably of the same date, between them.
At the archdeacon's visitation of 1606 the churchwardens stated that the chancel was out of repair, both glass and stonework of the windows being broken, and the walls dirty. At another visitation in 1683 the churchwardens were ordered to mend both the church porches, the crack on the north side of the steeple, and the tiling towards the lower end of the church.
A small scratched sundial on the external jamb of the 14th-century window in the south wall of the nave probably dates from the 17th century.
In 1944 a flying bomb damaged the south side of the church. Restoration was carried out between 1948 and 1952. During that period the gallery was converted into a small parish room by the fixing of a temporary partition to the front.
On the north wall of the chancel is an inscribed brass to Thomas Grene (1535) and his two wives. Also on the north wall of the chancel are white marble tablets to Charlotte Edwards (1823) and Isaac Taylor (1865). On the east wall of the chancel is a white marble tablet to Dr. Charles Gibbs (1681), and on the south wall a brass inscription to Katherine (1609) wife of Richard Mulcaster, rector of the parish. In the nave is a stone tablet to Anne, wife of William Napper (1584), bearing a brass of a kneeling woman and her six sons. On the floor of the chancel, some of them concealed below the altar, are four floor-slabs with brasses: (1) fragment of late-16th-century slab with shield of arms; (2) Thomas, infant son of Giles Greville (1492) with a figure of a Chrisom child and shield of arms; (3) Robert Borrow (1503) and Alys his wife: figures of man in plate armour and woman in pedimented head-dress with dog at their feet and shield of arms; (4) Lucy, daughter of William Petre (1637): inscription only. Also in the chancel are many floor slabs to the Petre family, ranging in date from 1677 (William son of Lord Petre) to 1797 (Hon. George William Petre).
The cache
You’re looking for a 35mm film canister. The cache has a log book but no pen so please bring one with you. Take care of the road whilst searching for this cache. If coming by car, please make sure you don’t block any of the nearby building accesses.
Church Micro Series
If any body would like to expand to this series please do, could you please let sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.