The buildings associated with the church in Rainham can be rather confusing as there seem to be many duplications and contradictions but this is partly due to the length of time that the church has stood here. The only one of these buildings still standing is the Old Parsonage that is currently owned by Reynolds Fitness although being used as flexible workspace at the current time. In the 1980s and 1990s it was owned by Dr Robin Keen, headmaster of Rainham Mark Grammar School.
The other buildings that existed historically were the Vicarage and Church House. The Parsonage was the original building for the clergy of St Margaret's Church and dates back before 1500. Obviously the Vicar had no official residence after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, so in the early part of the next century the parishioners provided finance for a new Vicarage next door to the Parsonage.
Photo showing Vicarage House opposite the Green Lion pub
This 17th century building was immediately adjacent to the path of the High Street and had an oriel window on the first floor from which movements in the High Street could be viewed. It had a large attractive garden with many well-established trees and fine lawns on which various village fetes were held. There was a coach house and stable on the eastern side, presumably used by the Vicar for his pony and trap by which he would visit parishioners.
This building remained in use until 1962 when it was sold for the development of the Post Office sorting building pictured above and a new Vicarage was built in Broadview Avenue. The post office sorting site itself was cleared in 2002 to build Appletree Court but Rainham lost part of its history when the Vicarage was demolished.
Church House was located directly opposite St Margaret's church and was demolished in the mid 1960s as well. Unlike the Vicarage there seems to have been no plan for anything to replace it and the site remained vacant for over 40 years until the Healthy Living Centre was built in 2007.
