ALL SAINTS MARGARET STREET
History and architecture
Introduction | Beginnings | Inside the church | Tiling | Windows | The Chancel | Outside
Tiling
Tiling plays an important part in the decoration of the nave. The vast tiled panels on the north wall were erected in 1873, at a cost of £1,100 in memory of Upton Richards, the first vicar. The tiles were designed by Butterfield to replace his original geometric patterns. They were painted by Alexander Gibbs and manufactured by Henry Poole and Sons, and the panels depict (from left to right): Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Miriam and Aaron; David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Daniel and St John the Baptist; the nativity; St Stephen, St Paul, St John, St Bartholomew, St Mary Magdalene and St Catherine; and in the final panel, St Luke, St Peter, St Andrew, St Margaret, St Boniface and St Lawrence.
The panel beneath the great west window dates from 1889, and depicts three Old Testament scenes: Moses lifting up the serpent (which symbolises the Crucifixion); Abraham offering his only son Isaac (as God gave his Son for our sins); and Melchizedek, priest of God. The panel on the north wall of the tower, the last to be erected, in 1891, depicts the Ascension.