The Church

St Margaret’s Lady Chapel Appeal


St. Margaret’s Church in North Oxford is an important piece of late-Victorian architectural and social history. It was designed by H.C.W. (‘Harry’) Drinkwater, and completed by George Frederick Bodley. Drinkwater, who built the main body of the church, was the son of a local publican, and also designed schools, public houses and Debenham’s department store. A talented amateur actor and musician, Drinkwater also built and often performed in Oxford’s original ‘New Theatre’, before its demolition in 1933. The choice of Drinkwater as architect of a north Oxford church was an unusual one at the time. It reflected the fact that this was a church, not for bachelor fellows in hallowed cloisters, but for printers, college servants, penniless tutors, and a new generation of married dons with young families. G. F. Bodley, who designed St Margaret’s porch and added to the church’s interior, was a disciple of Ruskin and friend of William Morris. While working on St Margaret’s in the early 1900s, Bodley was also constructing the Episcopalian cathedral in Washington, D.C., and the chapel of the Cowley fathers in Cowley Road.

One of the chief glories of St Margaret’s is the Lady Chapel, which boasts fine stained glass by Frederick Charles Eden. Eden was a close disciple of Charles Eamer Kent, the most prolific and inventive stained-glass artist of the late-Victorian Anglican revival. Over the years, the lead in Eden’s windows has become warped and unstable, and urgent work is underway to make the windows safe and restore them to their full glory. This vital conservation work will preserve these wonderful works of art (representing in particular the Nativity, Crucifixion and Pentecost in ‘modern’ settings) for generations to come.

The windows not only enhance the beauty of the church’s interior but provide a familiar and enduring landscape for passers-by. In addition, after well over 100 years of service, the lead on the roof of the Lady Chapel needs replacing urgently. There is danger of water coming into the church and severely damaging the historic fabric and the furniture. Not only is this an excellent opportunity to repair the roof, but also to take a step towards conserving the world’s resources by installing photo-voltaic cells which will generate electricity for the church and for the National Grid. The Lady Chapel has a south-facing roof, inconspicuous from the outside, and ideal for solar power generation. The community of St. Margaret’s has already embraced the battle against climate change with events such as ‘Green Shoots’ and ‘Living Green’. This is a chance for the whole community in this area to take a practical step towards carbon neutrality.
These two projects together will cost about £68,000. St. Margaret’s needs your help to raise this and to help secure the beauty of your local church and to conserve the planet’s resources for future generations. We will be applying to various grant-making bodies for as much of the funding as possible. However, to raise the total amount we need long term commitments from members of the church and the wider community to achieve our objective. Please consider making a monthly commitment for a total of four years.

How to support the Appeal:

  • Make a one-off donation
  • Donate monthly by Standing Order
  • Buy St Margaret’s Christmas cards
  • Support fund-raising events
  • Christmas cards will be on sale after the Sunday morning services during December
  • Events planned include an evening celebrating Victorian architecture with Dr. William Whyte, Fellow of St. John’s College, and including Victorian music sung by St. Margaret’s choir, on February 6th 2010 at 7.30pm.