Historical Overview
St
Margaret’s is one of the oldest churches in the City of Durham,
dating from the mid-12th century.
The first church, of c.1150, may have comprised a nave with
clerestory above, south aisle, chancel and possibly a low
western tower. The south aisle arcade of this church still
survives.
The north aisle was added c.1195 in a much lighter and more
graceful Norman architecture, anticipating the coming Gothic
style, but still with many traditional 12th-century
details.
The south aisle was rebuilt in 1343 and in the 15th
century the church was greatly improved with a new tower,
clerestory and chancel chapels.
Population increases during later centuries were accommodated in
galleries, all swept away in Victorian restorations (1865 and
1877-80). Many of the early church furnishings may have
disappeared at this time, although the font survives, of 12th-century
date and made of Frosterley marble.
Architectural features
The
South Arcade – i.e. the arches and columns on the
south side of the Nave – formed part of the original building.
Look out for the unusual carving on top of the easternmost
column (above the modern statue of the Madonna & child). Is it a
man… or is it a rabbit?
The North Arcade was built
some forty years after its counterpart on the south, and is
quite a bit taller. (St Oswald’s Church, on the other side of
the city, has a very similar arcade and it is probable that they
shared the same builder).
The
Chancel Arch is also original. It may well have been
built by Hugh du Puiset (Bishop of Durham 1153-97), whose arches
were notoriously unstable. Certainly it has a rather sunken
aspect, and has been strengthened and reinforced at various
stages over the centuries.
Either side of the arch are
squints, which give people in
the aisles a clear view of the altar.
The
Font is 12th-century, and may well be
contemporary with the original building. It is of Frosterley
marble – a local stone containing many fossils.
Two
Norman Windows also survive, smaller and
narrower than all the others: one on the north wall of the
Chancel, the other in the south-west corner of the Nave (the
County’s only remaining Norman clerestory window).
The Lady Chapel dates from
the 15th century; prior to that date another chapel
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary stood on the site, together
with a chantry to St Thomas a Becket.
The Tower also dates from
the fifteenth century and contains three bells, two of them
mediaeval, the other 16th-century. The old wooden bell-frame is
still in situ, though the bells are now fixed to a steel joist.
Furnishings
and other items
In the centre of the Nave floor
is an interesting slab memorial to Sir John Duck (aka
“Durham’s Dick Whittington”) and his wife. Duck had arrived in
the city penniless, and became a butcher’s apprentice. Over the
years he rose to be a successful butcher and coal-owner; in time
he married his master’s daughter, became mayor of the city and
was eventually knighted by Charles II.
The
Madonna and Child on
the pillar by the Lady Chapel dates from the 1990s. It was
sculpted by a local man, Brian Scraton, and is designed to
reflect universal motherhood.
Most of the woodwork in the
Church is Victorian though the wood of the pews is older,
having been recycled from the ‘box pews’ that formerly filled
the Church. The furniture in the Lady Chapel was given in memory
of parishioners who fell in the Second World War.
The organ is a fine
instrument by the famous Durham firm of Harrison & Harrison,
built in 1917 (Arthur Harrison was Churchwarden at the time).
Arthur Yockney, the then headmaster of St Margaret’s School,
carved the woodwork for the case. There are 1,276 pipes in the
organ.