Saint Margaret Pattens Church

09/11/2013

Steeped in History - more great writing about our wonderful church.

Henry Man (1747/48 – 1799)Henry Man was born in 1747/48 on Prescot Street, Whitechapel, Middlesex, the eldest son of John and Mary (Balchen) Man, and was baptized on 14 February 1747/8 at St. Mary Matfellon, Whitechapel High Street, Whitechapel, Middlesex.Henry married Eleanor Ann Thompson on 17 May...

09/11/2013

There are some very interesting articles written about our beautiful church... Like this one.

London Gallery Quire Church Crawl, 2007, Deptford and Greenwich, South East London

09/11/2013

A beautiful place, http://www.stmargaretpattnes.org

09/11/2013

What are "Pattens" ....

09/11/2013

Why "Pattens"? What does it mean?

For at least 900 years a church dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch has stood on this site. At least four versions of the church were built; the fourth was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. Wren built the present church between 1684 and 1687. As there were several churches dedicated to St Margaret at the time, some distinctive title was needed. That of “Pattens” was chosen because they were made and sold close to the church.

A patten was a type of "undershoe" consisting of a wooden sole fitted with leather straps and mounted on a large metal ring to raise the wearer from the muddy roads. By fastening the shoe on top of this with a leather strap, the wearer could walk through the mud of the City and arrive cleanshod.

With the paving of the streets, the trade died out and it is thought that the last working pattenmaker died in the 19th century. However, a pattenmaker was still listed in a trade reference in the 1920s. A notice in the church still “requests women to leave their Pattens before entering”.

28/01/2013

For at least nine hundred 900 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”.