St. Margaret of Scotland, Twickenham

Introduction

Saint Margaret of Scotland in Twickenham was built in 1968-9 by Austin Winkley of Williams and Winkley. The church is an early and particularly well-made example of post-Vatican II planning.

History

In 1930 the Diocese of Westminster bought the old house at 130 St Margaret's Road and Mass was said in the front room. The Parish of St Margaret of Scotland was formally created on 8 April 1936. In 1937 a prefabricated hut was erected in the front garden, known as the 'cardboard Cathedral', in which Mass was said for the next 32 years. The old house was demolished and architect Austin Winkley appointed to design the new building.

The new building including the church was completed in 1969 and is called the Complex. Thirty years later, English Heritage approved the Parish Complex as a Grade II listed building.

Architecture and furnishings

The church has Forticrete concrete block walls with steel trusses supporting flat roofs. The plan comprises a sunken vestry, office and boiler room, with above it a weekday chapel, with the main worship area to the rear and a large hall and balcony reading room. The volumes are expressed as a series of linked, square blocks with cut-off corners, an idiom repeated by Winkley in his later churches but here novel. The main worship space is almost square, entered from the corner, with a forward projecting octagonal sanctuary area at one end and a baptistry at the other.

Two stained glass windows to the baptistry and sanctuary area are by Patrick Reyntiens, the latter an abstract rendition of the Second Coming. The weekday chapel has a figure of Our Lady by Lindsay Clarke, a bequest from a priest to the parish priest who commissioned the church. The tabernacle is located in the wall between the church and chapel, a requirement of the Archbishop of Westminster. Over the altar is a gilded crucifix by Stephen Sykes, a gift from the parishioners as a memorial to the priest who died within a few days of the building completion.

The cross over the altar was designed by Stephen Sykes, who designed the Gethsemane Chapel in the new Coventry Cathedral, and depicts Christ robed as priest-King. The font is a large vessel reminiscent of the Doulton firkins preferred by Maguire and Murray, Winkley's mentors, set in a sunken basin.

The church has raked seating and a carpeted floor, giving a sense of home and improving visibility. A long wooden partition rolls back to open up the Hall and provide extra space when the Church is crowded. The Chapel, always open for private prayer and meditation, is on the right hand side of the main entrance, with the confessional in one corner. The Library overlooks the Hall on the first floor and is used for reading, small meetings and a crèche during family Mass. The community commissioned the cross as a memorial to the priest responsible for building the Parish Complex.

Music and liturgy

The parish's musical tradition includes a common body of singers and instrumentalists who assist at each choir during Mass. The church's organ case is positioned behind the altar.

Parish life

The Mustard Seed is a monthly charismatic prayer meeting based at St Margaret's Church with members from across West London and beyond. The parish runs one-day Marriage Preparation Courses in conjunction with the Oratory, Knightsbridge. The parish runs a Baptism Preparation course of two evening meetings led by a parish catechist. The parish runs a Confirmation course that prepares teenagers and begins with an icebreaker session in January each year.