St. Margaret's Church | |
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![]() St Margaret's Church, Lowestoft (July 2008) | |
52°29′11″N1°44′31″E / 52.4864°N 1.7420°E | |
Location | Lowestoft, Suffolk |
Country | England |
Denomination | Anglican |
Website | www |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Heritage designation | Grade I listed building |
Designated | 13 December 1949 |
Administration | |
Province | Canterbury |
Diocese | Norwich |
Archdeaconry | Norfolk |
Deanery | Lothingland |
Parish | Lowestoft St Margaret [1] |
Clergy | |
Rector | Revd. Canon Simon Stokes |
Laity | |
Reader(s) | Miss Gerda Buckley, Mrs Sarah Spall |
Organist(s) | Jonathan Williams |
Churchwarden(s) | Malcolm Howes, Derek Spall |
Verger | Mrs Sarah Spall |
Saint Margaret's Church is the ancient parish church of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. It is dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch [1] and is notable for its large illuminated blue spire which can be seen across the town. The church is located on a hilltop on the north-western edge of the town centre and was used as a navigation landmark. [2]
The church is within the deanery of Lothingland and archdeaconry of Norfolk. It falls within the Diocese of Norwich which extends into north Suffolk. [1]
The church is medieval and a Grade I listed building with an early 14th-century tower. [3] [4] It was founded by the Priory of St. Bartholomew in London which was granted the manor of Lowestoft in 1230 by Henry I. [5] The church contains a wooden panel listing the parish priests since 1308. [4]
The church is built of flint and was substantially enlarged during the 15th century, with the aisles and nave dating from this period. [3] It was refurbished during the Victorian period and the needle spire rebuilt in 1954, replacing the previous wooden spire which dated from 1483. [3] [6] It contains the only known glasswork produced by Regency artist Robert Allen, installed in 1819. [2] The east window glass dates from 1891 [3] and the church also contains glasswork from St Peter's church, a daughter church of St Margaret's which was demolished in 1975. [2] [4]
Vicars
Within the church the octagonal font dates from the 15th century. [3] The brass lectern is a rare pre-Reformation lectern dating from around 1500. [4] It also contains one of only two remaining banner stave lockers, a feature which is believed to be unique to this area of Suffolk. [2] [4]
There are a number of memorials within the church. The north wall of the church contains a memorial to fishermen who lost their lives at sea between 1896 and 1923. After this date the memorial was moved to The Lowestoft Fisherman's and Sailor's Bethel. [4] A war memorial chapel contains a wooden wall inscribed with the names of 711 Lowestoft men who died in the First World War. [4]
The churchyard contains war graves of two service personnel of World War I, and seventeen of World War II. [9]