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The Guild Church of St Margaret Pattens

History of St Margaret Pattens

For at least nine hundred years a church dedicated to St. Margaret of Antioch has stood in what now is Eastcheap.  The earliest known reference is to a small wooden building in the year 1067.  Later this church is referred to in mediaeval records by various names such as “St Margaret Pattens” and “St. Margaret near the Tower”.

At the beginning of the 15th century the patronage belonged for a short time to the famous citizen, Richard Whittington, and he, in 1411 gave it to the Mayor and Commonalty of London.  The old building was pulled down and reconstructed in 1538, the cost being partly met out of gifts brought to a rood or crucifix standing in the nearby lane, still called Rood Lane.  This rood suffered destruction at the hand of some unknown “reformer”.   Many valuable treasures belonging to St. Margaret’s - a list of which fills several folios of inventories made in 1470 and 1511, now at the Guildhall - were lost during the Reformation.

Early in the 17th century repairs were carried out upon the Church, which was then destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The parish account books record expenses incurred by the zealous churchwardens in visiting Sir Christopher Wren “to put him in mind of the building of the Church”.  Eventually their efforts were rewarded by the rebuilding of St Margaret’s, probably on its medieval foundations, by the celebrated architect at a cost of nearly £5,000 between 1684 and 1687.  Two lead rain-water heads on the outside north wall have the date 1685.  The neighbouring parish of  St Gabriel Fen, whose church had also been destroyed in the Fire, was then united with St Margaret’s.  Damaged during World War II, St Margaret’s was restored in 1955-56, and the north gallery converted into lecture rooms.

As there were originally four City churches dedicated to St Margaret, some distinctive additional title was needed.  That of “Pattens” was chosen because, according to the chronicler and antiquarian, John Stow (1525-1605), pattens were made and sold in the lane beside the Church.  A patten consisted of a wooden sole fitted with leather straps and mounted on a large iron ring to raise the wearer from the mud.  The noise made by these iron rings on stone floors explains an old notice in the vestibule asking women to “leave their pattens before entering”.

Since the 15th century The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers has been associated with the Church, and panels with the names of past masters may be seen on the south wall.

The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers also has close links with the church, and similar panels list the prime wardens of that company.

Church Records

As with all churches in the City of London, our church records are held at the Guildhall Library, to which all enquiries should be directed.

                                Guildhall Library

                                Manuscripts Section,

                                Aldermanbury, London. EC2V 7HH

                                Tel: +44 (0) 20 7332 1863.

A list of parish registers held at the Guildhall Library on microfilm, showing dates and catalogue reference, is shown below.