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St Martin-in-the-Fields
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St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated in honour of Saint Martin 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 the London wall.
St Martin's became a principal parish 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 influential neoclassical design by James 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. The site is outside the city limits of Roman London (as was the usual Roman practice for burials) but is particularly interesting for being so far outside (1.6 km or 1 statute mile west-south-west of Ludgate), 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 a pagan 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 the Abbot of Westminster and the Bishop of London as to who had control over it. The Archbishop of Canterbury decided in favour of Westminster, and the monks of Westminster Abbey began to use it.
Henry VIII rebuilt the church in 1542 to keep plague victims in the area from having to pass through his Palace of Whitehall. At this time it was literally "in the fields", occupying an isolated position between the cities of Westminster and London.
By the beginning of the reign of James 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, and the building was enlarged eastwards over the old burial ground, increasing the length of the church by about half. At the same time, the church was, in the phrase of the time, thoroughly "repaired and beautified". Later in the 17th century, capacity was increased by the addition of galleries. The creation of the new parishes of St Anne, Soho, and St James, Piccadilly, and the opening of a chapel in Oxenden Street also relieved some of the pressure on space.
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, supported with what Edward Hatton described as "Pillars of the Tuscan and Modern Gothick orders". 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. The church was about 84 ft (26 m) long and 62 ft (19 m) wide. The tower was about 90 ft (27 m) high.
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St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated in honour of Saint Martin 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 the London wall.
St Martin's became a principal parish 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 influential neoclassical design by James 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. The site is outside the city limits of Roman London (as was the usual Roman practice for burials) but is particularly interesting for being so far outside (1.6 km or 1 statute mile west-south-west of Ludgate), 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 a pagan 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 the Abbot of Westminster and the Bishop of London as to who had control over it. The Archbishop of Canterbury decided in favour of Westminster, and the monks of Westminster Abbey began to use it.
Henry VIII rebuilt the church in 1542 to keep plague victims in the area from having to pass through his Palace of Whitehall. At this time it was literally "in the fields", occupying an isolated position between the cities of Westminster and London.
By the beginning of the reign of James 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, and the building was enlarged eastwards over the old burial ground, increasing the length of the church by about half. At the same time, the church was, in the phrase of the time, thoroughly "repaired and beautified". Later in the 17th century, capacity was increased by the addition of galleries. The creation of the new parishes of St Anne, Soho, and St James, Piccadilly, and the opening of a chapel in Oxenden Street also relieved some of the pressure on space.
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, supported with what Edward Hatton described as "Pillars of the Tuscan and Modern Gothick orders". 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. The church was about 84 ft (26 m) long and 62 ft (19 m) wide. The tower was about 90 ft (27 m) high.
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