London city churches are rarely quite as special as St Martin-in-the-Fields, an Anglican church located in Trafalgar Square that is centuries old.

Excavation at the site in 2006 unearthed a tomb from about 410 AD, which is thought to mark this area as a centre of Christianity even way back then.

We do know for certain that the earliest reference to the church dates from 1222, and that it was rebuilt in 1542 by Henry VIII. At this time in history, the church was quite literally “in the field”, an outpost built on the road running from London to Westminster.

St Martin withstood the London Fire of 1666 but was then rebuilt in 1726 on a design by James Gibbs. The design was controversial at the time, but then went on to be widely copied, especially among churches in the United States.

The church is planning for a very extensive £36m renewal. It is a very prominent and important church in London.

St Martin-in-the-Fields holds regular services in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese to serve their local Chinese population.

The church is well known for its work with the homeless, and the profits of its many programs go towards funding these good works.

There are regular lunchtime and evening classical music concerts at the church featuring a variety of groups. There are regular performances by the Academy of St Martin-in the-Fields, an ensemble founded by a former church music master in 1959. There are also evening jazz concerts at the church’s very popular eatery, The Café in the Crypt.

The café serves a full menu of traditional British meals in a very interesting setting in the crypt area with brick-vaulted ceilings. The crypt also houses a gift shop and an art gallery that holds seasonal exhibitions that are open to the public.

The London Brass Rubbing Centre has its headquarters at the church, and you can learn how to make your own rubbing from their wide selection of replica brasses.

Few London city churches have as much to offer the visitor as St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Visiting St Martin-in-the-Fields

Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, WC2N 4JJ

Telephone: 020 7766 1100

Email info@smitf.org

Photo courtesy: stevecadman

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