St Margaret's Church, Halstead

St Margaret, Halstead
St Margaret's Church, Halstead
51°20′6″N 0°7′39″E / 51.33500°N 0.12750°E / 51.33500; 0.12750Coordinates: 51°20′6″N 0°7′39″E / 51.33500°N 0.12750°E / 51.33500; 0.12750
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	knockholtandhalsteadchurches.org
History
Dedication	Margaret the Virgin
Administration
Parish	Halstead
Deanery	Sevenoaks
Archdeaconry	Kent
Diocese	Rochester
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Priest(s)	Rev. Tim Edwards

St Margaret's Church is an Anglican parish church in the village of Halstead and the Sevenoaks deanery, although the church also serves the village of Badgers Mount. St Katharine's and St Margaret's came together in 1983 as a United Benefice under one parish priest. The pattern of services reflects the fact that it is two parishes working closely together.

St Margaret's is built across the road from the site of the original demolished medieval church, the only remaining sections of which include the monuments held inside the current church; these monuments date back to the mid-15th century. The chancel was built in 1855 by R. C. Hussey, and is described by architectural historian John Newman as having "flintwork [that] is laboriously galleted with flint flakes", and was originally built as a burial chapel. The nave and the lean-to south aisle are combined under a single roof built by W. M. Teulon between 1880 and 1881. The south-west porch is timber-framed, and is "picturesquely" grouped with the south-east gabled window and a large west bell-gable. The north aisle and vestry were built by St Aubyn and Wadling in 1897, and the outer north aisle was completed in 1992. The interior is unified, boasting "three-bay arcades with circular piers, bold capitals and deeply moulded red brick arches."