A medieval church stood here on Eastcheap, one of the City’s main market streets, which was rebuilt in 1538. This Tudor structure perished in the Great Fire and was replaced by Wren in 1684–87. The curious term ‘Pattens’ has an uncertain origin. Stow says the church was so called ‘because old time pattens were there usually made and sold’. (Pattens were wooden clogs shod with iron rings for walking above the mud. They were in use well into the nineteenth century and are frequently mentioned in Dickens’ novels). However, earlier references than Stow indicate that the name could have been derived from a benefactor named Patynz or Patins.
The soaring tower of St Margaret Pattens is the distinguishing feature of an otherwise plain exterior. The church is bordered on the left (west) side by a small street called Rood Lane, about which Stow tells an interesting story. Apparently when the medieval building was demolished in 1530 a wooden cross was erected on the site, along with a tabernacle where offerings could be made towards the building fund. The lane, formerly called St Margaret Pattens Lane, was renamed after the cross was erected. In May of 1538 the cross and tabernacle were broken up at night ‘by people unknown’ (this was in the early days of the Reformation, remember). A short time later a disastrous fire was set in the neighbourhood, slowing up the work of reconstruction.
The interior of St Margaret Pattens is richly furnished, including a fine eighteenth-century organ and the Stuart Royal Arms dating from the time of James II. The pattenmakers and basketmakers guilds hold annual services here. When visiting, look for the beadle’s pew and punishment bench (north side of the chancel) and the wooden pegs for wigs (west end of Lady Chapel, south wall). St Margaret’s is no longer a parish church, but is used as a Christian study centre.