Inventory Site Record

The village of Edgware developed from medieval times along the old Roman road of Watling Street, now Edgware Road. Church Lane, renamed Station Road in 1931, had been the route to Mill Hill. The old parish church has been much added to over the years but retains its late medieval west tower. The churchyard is bounded by walls; among the tombs is a railed neo-classical sarcophagus for Francis Day (d.1826), whose almshouses were built to the north on Edgware Road. At the western end of the churchyard is Truth Hall built in 1833 as a church school, now the church hall.

Previous / Other name:

Edgware Parish Church

Site location:

Station Road, Edgware

Postcode:

HA8 7HE

What 3 Words:

papers.slot.influencing

Type of site:

Churchyard

Borough:

Barnet

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Edgware (Northern)

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Research updated:

01/09/2000

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news.

The old village developed from medieval times along the old Roman road of Watling Street, now Edgware Road; Church Lane, renamed Station Road in 1931, had been the route to Mill Hill, which crossed Watling Street. Until the station was built in 1924 the village was surrounded by fields and in 1900 the parish consisted of some 870 people. The old parish church has been much added to over the years but retains some remnants of the earlier building such as its late medieval west tower, ragstone with Reigate dressings. By the mid C18th the poor state of the church fabric actually discouraged the congregation from attending, and it was largely rebuilt in brick in 1763/4. In 1854 sanctuary and transcripts designed by Charles Barry Junior were added, and further additions were made in 1928. In the church is a brass showing a baby in swaddling clothes, commemorating Anthonie Childe who died in 1599.

In the churchyard is a railed neo-classical tapered sarcophagus for Francis Day (d.1826), whose almshouses of 1828 were built further north on Edgware Road; a headstone to Ivy Glen McSweeney (d.1943) has a 'good relief in the (Eric) Gill tradition' (Pevsner). A monument of 1908 marks the re-interment of those previously buried beneath the church, removed here 'for sanitary reasons' after closure of the church in 1907 due to flooding in the crypt when coffins were found floating. The churchyard is bounded by walls, the wall onto Station Road has a plaque on the gate pier commemorating George William Whitehouse (d.1932), in whose memory his widow had the wall and wooden gates erected. At the western end of the churchyard is Truth Hall built in 1833 as a church school, now the church hall, a rusticated building with the word 'Truth' in large white letters. Below is a flower bed with a plaque commemorating the Aberfan disaster.

Sources consulted:

Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner,'The Buildings of England: London 4: North (1998) p. 116.

Grid ref:

TQ192916 (519260,191690)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

Diocese of London

Site management:

Church

Date(s):

medieval onwards

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: St Margaret's Church

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Area of Special Archaeological Significance

Other LA designation:

None

St Margaret's Churchyard, September 2000. Photograph: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.