Saint Margaret of Antioch

Sir Edward Burne-Jones

1895

St Margaret's Church

Rottingdean, Sussex

Photograph and text 2006 by Jacqueline Banerjee.

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St Margaret of Antioch, for whom the church is named, was a young Christian martyr whose story was brought back by Crusaders in the eleventh century. The Latin inscription under her window (opposite the Virgin Mary's window) translates as: "Painted o'er my Chancel bright,/Three Archangels shed their light,/ Ever watching: on the right/ Stands the Virgin sainted./ With God's mother face to face,/ Trusting in her guardian grace/ Now I, Margaret, take my place,/ In this lancet painted."

Burne-Jones is said to have used his daughter Margaret's face as his model.