St Margaret of Antioch

The church is situated on the highest point of the village of Stoke Golding where Henry Tudor was crowned following the Battle of Bosworth in which King Richard III was killed. It is said that villagers watched the Battle of Bosworth from the church tower.

Come and marvel at the effort and commitment which went into building this medieval masterpiece. Huge blocks of stone had to be quarried and the transported miles by horse and cart. Once in the village the stone had to be lifted into place by hand and with pulleys and ropes. Masons were employed to carve the marvellous window tracery and figures which decorate the stonework. As you look at the windows, especially in the north wall, you can see how the window patterns become increasingly free flowing as masonry techniques developed.

The church consists of a nave, south aisle, chancel and west tower with spire. Imagine how the villagers felt when the spire was taken down in 1943 to avoid Wellington Bombers hitting it as they came into land at the RAF airfield just outside the village. You can still see the marks left on the concrete slab where the stones where stored until the spire was rebuilt in 1947. Pevsner notes that ‘the arcade (between the nave and south aisle) was treated with ‘a lavishness worthy of a cathedral’ .The detail is in the Decorated style and is of the ‘richest quality.

There is a fine octagonal font, with carvings of St Margaret defeating a serpent, St Katherine, a bishop, and one of the possible founders of the church. In the Lady Chapel there is a memorial tablet to Sir Henry Firebrace, courtier to the Stuart Kings, famous for pulling Charles I back into Carisbrooke Castle when he got stuck while trying to to escape from his imprisonment. The Firebrace family lived in the village.

Why not pick up a pamphlet (by the church yard entrance) and follow the outside trail around the church. This will be your chance to understand how the external features tell the story of this iconic building.