St Margaret of Antioch, Barking

Few who live outside Barking - and I suspect many who live there - will be aware that at the edge of the bustling town centre is a delightful (and substantial) mediaeval church, which is well worth a visit.

St Margaret of Antioch was built as a chapel within Barking Abbey, and in 1300 it became the town's parish church. It sits east of the centre in a wide expanse of green - once the Abbey grounds, of which only the Curfew Tower remains. The church has been expanded over the years, so it now contains a happy mix of all periods from the 13th to the 16th centuries. 

Inside, the oldest part is the chancel and part of the nave, which date from c. 1215, although most of the fabric is 15th Century:  the outer north aisle and chapel were added in the 16th Century using materials from the dissolved abbey. In 1772, the church was heavily remodelled under the direction of a local landowner, Bamber Gascoyne, who had much of the original fabric encased in decorative plasterwork. Of this, the lovely chancel ceiling remains, complementing the fine mediaeval roofs in the nave and north aisles. Traces of mediaeval painting remain in the chancel arch.

However, the true joy of the church is its furnishings, testament to the wealth of Barking from the 17th Century onwards, when it was a sizeable fishing port. In the chancel, the memorial to Sir Charles Montagu (d. 1625) shows him in his tent on campaign, dozing while armed musketeers stand guard. Nearby is the fine engraved tombstone of Martinus, the first recorded Vicar of Barking, dating from 1315. Of special note is that to Captain John Bennett (d. 1715) and his mother and father, his figure surrounded by the fore and aft of a fully-rigged sailing ship, navigational instruments and globes. He also has a fine tomb in the churchyard in the same style.

The nave has poppyhead pews incorporating 18th century woodwork, and the classical-style font (c.1635) is topped by a jolly cover, decorated by Jessie Jack, daughter of the Arts & Crafts craftsman George Jack. There is some good stained glass, and the Fisherman's Chapel includes statues of local notables associated with the parish, including Captain Cook (who married Elizabeth Batts here in 1762), the Quaker and prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, and St Ethelburga, the first Abbess of Barking.

The church is the centre of a busy parish life, and includes an excellent tea room in the adjoining church centre, where I enjoyed a lovely lunch and a very friendly welcome.

St Margaret of Antioch, Broadway & North Street, Barking, IG11 8AS