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Our church is dedicated
to St Margaret, Queen of Scotland.
St Margaret lived in the 11th century
and was considered to be a very pious, benevolent and influential
queen. Her name is derived from the greek word for a pearl
and she is sometimes called The Pearl of Scotland.
St Margaret started the ferry across the
Firth of Forth for pilgrims travelling to St Andrews in
Fife. The hamlet supporting this ferry eventually grew to
become our Royal Burgh of Queensferry. Margaret was canonised
c.1250.
To find out more about
St Margaret
click here to view our presentation
(there may be a delay while the images load)
The illustrations
used in this presentation are taken from the Lonsdale Frieze
in the magnificent gothic house, Mount Stuart, on the island
of Bute (our thanks to the Mount Stuart Trust for their
kind permission to use these images). The last illustration
is a copy of St Margaret's Gospel Book from St Margaret's
Chapel, Edinburgh Castle.
This frieze was created by the Victorian
artist, H. W. Lonsdale, and commissioned by the 3rd Marquess
of Bute. The Marquess had a special interest in St Margaret,
from whom he claimed descent, and also named his daughter.
The house is well worth a visit and the frieze can be seen
in the Family Bedroom. See http://www.mountstuart.com/
to find out more.
The Lonsdale Frieze has another link with
Queensferry. Clare Meredith, paintings conservator and Queensferry
resident, led the team that reinstated the Lonsdale Frieze
in 2000. This was a complex task as the 15 fragile canvases,
which make up the Family Bedroom Frieze, had been removed
from the room in the 1940s and had lain rolled up in the
attics of Mount Stuart for some fifty years.
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