St Margaret's Church, Leicester

St Margaret’s Church stands in the heart of Leicester’s old town, just beyond the vanished Roman walls. Built on Anglo-Saxon foundations, it is the only medieval parish church outside the former town defences. The present building, mostly from the 15th century, replaced earlier structures at least four times. Its tall perpendicular tower and grand south porch make it one of Leicester’s most striking landmarks. Opposite the city’s busiest bus station, it remains a familiar sight to thousands every day. The church also holds a celebrated ring of fourteen bells, ten of which have rung since the 17th century. It is a Grade I listed building and a member of the Major Churches Network. The church’s history reaches back to at least the seventh century. Medieval tradition called it the mother church of Leicester and the seat of early bishops until the Viking raids of the 870s. After the Norman Conquest it became part of the Bishop of Lincoln’s estate, known as the Bishops Fee. For centuries it served a vast rural parish that stretched beyond the old town walls. The church’s unusual status as a prebendal peculiar meant it answered only to a prebendary, not the local bishop. Antiquaries like John Leyland and John Nichols praised its architecture in the 16th and 18th centuries. Inside, visitors find a spacious nave with high vaulted ceilings and a grand double-height porch. The tower’s stair turret is unique in Leicestershire, rising above the surrounding streets. The church’s long walls still carry traces of its medieval past, from Saxon foundations to later additions. The ring of bells can be heard across the city when rung full-circle. Outside, the site lies close to the line of the old Roman walls at Sanvey Gate and Church Gate. The area once held a Roman cemetery, and the church has stood as a landmark for over a thousand years.