| St Martin-in-the-Fields | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The church in 2023 | |
  St Martin-in-the-Fields | |
| 51°30′32″N0°07′37″W / 51.50889°N 0.12694°W /51.50889; -0.12694 | |
| OS grid reference | TQ 30102 80541 |
| Location | Trafalgar Square,Westminster London,WC2 |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Dedication | Saint Martin |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Architect(s) | James Gibbs |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Neoclassical |
| Years built | 1721–1726 |
| Specifications | |
| Number ofspires | 1 |
| Spire height | 192 feet (59 m) |
| Bells | 12 (full circle) |
| Tenor bell weight | 29 long cwt 1 qr 1 lb (3,277 lb or 1,486 kg) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | London |
| Archdeaconry | London (previouslyCharing Cross) |
| Deanery | Westminster (St Margaret)[usurped] |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar(s) | Sam Wells |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Andrew Earis[1] |
| Churchwarden(s) | Chris Braganza Adrian Harris |
Historic site | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Church of St Martin in the Fields |
| Designated | 24 February 1958 |
| Reference no. | 1217661[2] |
St Martin-in-the-Fields is aChurch of England parish church at the north-east corner ofTrafalgar Square in theCity of Westminster,London. Dedicated to SaintMartin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval period. This location, at that time, was farmlands and fields beyond theLondon wall.
It became a principalparish church west of the old City in the early modern period as Westminster's population grew. When its medieval and Jacobean structure was found to be near failure, the present building was constructed in an influentialneoclassical design byJames Gibbs in 1722–1726. The church is one of the visual anchors adding to the open-urban space around Trafalgar Square.
Excavations at the site in 2006 uncovered a group of burials dating from c A.D. 350, including a sarcophagus burial dating from c. A.D. 410.[3] The site is outside the city limits ofRoman London (as was the usual Roman practice for burials) but is particularly interesting for being sofar outside (1.6 km or 1 statute mile west-south-west ofLudgate), and this is leading to a reappraisal of Westminster's importance at that time. The burials are thought by some to mark a Christian centre of that time (possibly reusing the site or building of apagan temple[citation needed]) or possibly even developing around the shrine of a martyr.
The Roman burial ground was acknowledged by the Saxons, who also buried their dead there. To have such a long time span as a burial ground makes St Martin-in-the-Fields relatively unusual. It is possible that the Saxon town of Lundenwic essentially grew eastwards from the early burial group (Museum of London Archaeology).[citation needed]
The earliest extant reference to the church is from 1222, when there was a dispute between theAbbot of Westminster and theBishop of London as to who had control over it. TheArchbishop of Canterbury decided in favour of Westminster, and the monks ofWestminster Abbey began to use it.[4]
Henry VIII rebuilt the church in 1542 to keep plague victims in the area from having to pass through hisPalace of Whitehall. At this time it was literally "in the fields", occupying an isolated position between the cities of Westminster andLondon.
By the beginning of the reign ofJames I, the local population had increased greatly and the congregation had outgrown the building. In 1606 the king granted an acre ( 4,046.86 mts2) of ground to the west of St Martin's Lane for a new churchyard,[5] and the building was enlarged eastwards over the old burial ground, increasing the length of the church by about half.[6] At the same time, the church was, in the phrase of the time, thoroughly "repaired and beautified".[6] Later in the 17th century, capacity was increased by the addition of galleries. The creation of the new parishes ofSt Anne, Soho, andSt James, Piccadilly, and the opening of a chapel in Oxenden Street also relieved some of the pressure on space.[5]
As it stood at the beginning of the 18th century, the church was built of brick, rendered over, with stone facings. The roof was tiled, and there was a stone tower, with buttresses. The ceiling was slightly arched,[6] supported with whatEdward Hatton described as "Pillars of theTuscan and Modern Gothick orders".[6] The interior was wainscotted in oak to a height of 6 ft (1.8 m), while the galleries, on the north, south and west sides, were of painted deal.[6] The church was about 84 ft (26 m) long and 62 ft (19 m) wide. The tower was about 90 ft (27 m) high.[6]
A number of notables were buried in this phase of the church, includingRobert Boyle,Nell Gwyn,John Parkinson and SirJohn Birkenhead.
| Church of St. Martin-in-the Fields Act 1719 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for rebuilding the Parish Church of Saint Martin in the Fields, in the City of Westminster, at the Charge of the Inhabitants of the said Parish. |
| Citation | 6 Geo. 1. c.32Pr. |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 11 June 1720 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | |
Status: Repealed | |
| St. Martin-in-the Fields Church Rebuilding Act 1723 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for compleating the re-building the Parish Church of St. Martin in the Fields. |
| Citation | 10 Geo. 1. c.4Pr. |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 19 March 1724 |
A survey of 1710 found that the walls and roof were in a state of decay. In 1720, Parliament passed an act of Parliament, theChurch of St. Martin-in-the Fields Act 1719 (6 Geo. 1. c.32Pr.) for the rebuilding of the church allowing for a sum of up to £22,000, to be raised by a rate on the parishioners. A temporary church was erected partly on the churchyard and partly on ground in Lancaster Court. Advertisements were placed in the newspapers that bodies and monuments of those buried in the church or churchyard could be taken away for reinterment by relatives.[5]
The rebuilding commissioners selectedJames Gibbs to design the new church. His first suggestion was for a church with a circular nave and domed ceiling,[7] but the commissioners considered this scheme too expensive. Gibbs then produced a simpler, rectilinear plan, which they accepted. The foundation stone was laid on 19 March 1722, and the last stone of the spire was placed into position in December 1724. The total cost was £33,661 including the architect's fees.[5]
The west front of St Martin's has a portico with a pediment supported by a giant order of Corinthian columns, six wide. The order is continued around the church by pilasters. In designing the church, Gibbs drew upon the works ofChristopher Wren, but departed from Wren's practice in his integration of the tower into the church. Rather than considering it as an adjunct to the main body of the building, he constructed it within the west wall, so that it rises above the roof, immediately behind the portico,[7] an arrangement also used at around the same time byJohn James atSt George, Hanover Square (completed in 1724), although James' steeple is much less ambitious.[7] The spire of St Martin's rises 192 ft (59 m) above the level of the church floor.[5]
The church is rectangular in plan, with the five-bay nave divided from the aisles by arcades of Corinthian columns. There are galleries over both aisles and at the west end. The nave ceiling is a flattened barrel vault, divided into panels by ribs. The panels are decorated instucco with cherubs, clouds, shells and scroll work, executed by Giuseppe Artari and Giovanni Bagutti.[5]
Until the creation of Trafalgar Square in the 1820s, Gibbs's church was crowded by other buildings.J. P. Malcolm, writing in 1807, said that its west front "would have a grand effect if the execrable watch-house and sheds before it were removed" and described the sides of the church as "lost in courts, where houses approach them almost to contact".[8]
The design was criticised widely at the time, but subsequently became extremely famous, being copied particularly widely in the United States.[9] Although Gibbs was discreetlyCatholic, his four-wall, long rectangular floor plan, with a triangulargable roof and a tall prominent centre-frontsteeple (and often, columned front-portico), became closely associated withProtestant church architecture world-wide.[10]
In Britain, the design ofSt Andrew's in the Square church (built 1739–56) in Glasgow was inspired by the church. In the American Colonies,St. Michael's Anglican Church (Charleston, South Carolina) (built 1751–61), was heavily influenced by St Martin-in-the-fields, though the columns of its front portico are of the Tuscan order, rather than the Corinthian order.St. George's Church, Dublin (built 1802), though obviously influence by St Martin's-in-the-fields, that influence seems to be via St Andrews in the Square, as exampled in the copying of its Ionic columns instead of St Martin's Corinthian columns. In India,St Andrew's Church,Egmore (built 1818–1821), Madras (nowChennai), is another example. InSouth Africa, the Dutch Reformed Church inCradock is modelled on St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Various notables were soon buried in the new church, including the émigré sculptorLouis-François Roubiliac (who had settled in this area of London) and the furniture-makerThomas Chippendale (whose workshop was in the same street as the church, St Martin's Lane[11]), along withJack Sheppard in the adjoining churchyard. This churchyard, which lay to the south of the church, was removed to make way for Duncannon Street, constructed in the 19th century to provide access to the newly created Trafalgar Square.[12] Two small parcels of the churchyard survived, to the north and east of the church. TheMetropolitan Public Gardens Association laid them out for public use in 1887; unusually for the MPGA, it paved them with flagstones as well as planted them with trees. For many years covered in market stalls, the churchyard has been restored including with the provision of seating.[13]
Before embarking for the Middle East Campaign,Edmund Allenby was met by GeneralBeauvoir De Lisle at the Grosvenor Hotel and convinced General Allenby with Bible prophecies of the deliverance ofJerusalem. He told General Allenby that the Bible said that Jerusalem would be delivered in that very year, 1917, and by Great Britain. General Beauvoir de Lisle had studied the prophecies, as he was about to preach at St Martin-in-the-Fields.[14]
Because of its prominent position, St Martin-in-the-Fields is one of the most famous churches in London.Dick Sheppard,Vicar from 1914 to 1927 who began programmes for the area's homeless, coined its ethos as the "Church of the Ever Open Door". The church is famous for its work with young and homeless people throughThe Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields,[15] created in 2003 through the merger of two programmes dating at least to 1948. The Connection shares with The Vicar's Relief Fund the money raised each year by theBBCRadio 4 Appeal's Christmas appeal.[16]
The crypt houses a café which hostsjazz concerts whose profits support the programmes of the church. The crypt is also home to the London Brass Rubbing Centre, established in 1975 as an art gallery, book, and gift shop. A life-sized marble statue ofHenry Croft, London's firstpearly king, was moved to the crypt in 2002 from its original site atSt Pancras Cemetery.
In January 2006, work began on a £36-million renewal project. The project included renewing the church itself, as well as provision of facilities encompassing the church's crypt, a row of buildings to the north and some significant new underground spaces in between. The funding included a grant of £15.35 million from theHeritage Lottery Fund. The church and crypt reopened in the summer of 2008.[4]
Its present vicar isSam Wells (since 2012), who as well as being a priest is a renowned theologian and writer.
Twelve historic bells from St Martin-in-the-Fields, cast in 1725, are included in the peal of theSwan Bells tower inPerth, Australia. The current set of twelve bells, cast in 1988, which replaced the old ones are rung every Sunday between 9 am and 10 am by the St Martin in the Fields Band of Bell Ringers.[17] The bells are also rung by the Friends of Dorothy Society each year as part ofLondon Pride.[18][19]
Being in a prominent central London location, the exterior of the church building frequently appears in films, includingNotting Hill andEnigma, and television programmes, includingDoctor Who andSherlock.
References to the church take place in the following novels:
References to the church occur in the following poems:
TheSt Mary's Church in Pune is designed in the style of St Martin's.[20]
The church may be the St Martin's referred to in the nursery rhyme known asOranges and Lemons.
The church has a close relationship with theroyal family, whose parish church it is,[21] as well as with10 Downing Street and theAdmiralty.[22]
The church established its own almhouses and pension-charity on 21 September 1886. The 19 church trustees administered almshouses for women and provided them with a weekly stipend. The almshouses were built in 1818, in Bayham Street (to a design byHenry Hake Seward),[23] on part of the parish burial ground inCamden Town andSt Pancras and replaced those constructed in 1683.[24]
The St Martin-in-the-Fields charity supports homeless and vulnerably housed people. The church has raised money for vulnerable people in its annual Christmas Appeal since 1920 and in an annual BBC radio broadcast since December 1927.[25]
The Connection at St Martin's is located next to the church, and works closely with the church's charity. It supports 4000 homeless people in London each year, by providing accommodation, medical and dental care, skills training, and creative activities.[26]
The church is known for its regular lunchtime and evening concerts: manyensembles perform there, including theAcademy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which was co-founded by SirNeville Marriner and John Churchill, a former Master of Music at St Martin's.
The organ is housed in the west gallery. The first organ to be installed in the new Gibbs church of 1726 was built by Christopher Schreider in 1727. The current instrument was built in 1990.[30]
Organists include:
In 1699 the church founded a school for poor and less fortunate boys, which later became a girls' school. It was originally sited in Charing Cross Road, near the church. At one time it was known as St Martin's Middle Class School for Girls, and was later renamedSt Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls. It was relocated to its present site inLambeth in 1928.
The school badge depicts the eponymous SaintMartin of Tours. The school's Latin mottoCaritate et disciplina translates as "With love and learning".[9] The school is Christian but accepts girls of all faiths.
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