The museum's plaque, of the model that stands
about 2 feet high, reads:
"Model of St Martin-in-the-Fields
The architect James Gibbs designed the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in the
classical style. It took four and a half years to build and was completed in
1726. With its dramatic portico and steeple, the church rapidly became a famous
London landmark. Its design was copied throughout Britain and the colonies."
The St Martin-in-the-Fields website (visit
link) tells us:
"The Story of St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a landmark. Its fine architecture and prominent
location place it at the heart of the nation. Its work has valued historic
tradition, but St Martin's has always been innovative in response to changing
needs. From London's first free lending library to the first religious
broadcast, St Martin's has broken new ground in defining what it means to be a
church.
There is no official reference to a church on the site of St Martin's until
Norman times, when in 1222 a dispute was recorded between William, Abbot of
Westminster, and Eustace, Bishop of London on the Bishop's authority over the
church. The Archbishop of Canterbury decided in favour of the abbot and St
Martin's, then surrounded by fields, appears to have been used by the monks of
Westminster.
In around 1542, Henry VIII, as ruthless with the monks as with his wives, built
a new church and extended the parish boundaries to keep plague victims from
being carried through his palace. This was enlarged in 1607 at the cost of
Prince Henry, the son of King James I. This church was pulled down in 1721 to be
replaced by the current building.
The present church was designed by James Gibbs and completed in 1726. It has
become one of the most significant ecclesiastical buildings in the
English-speaking world. In the 19th century, whilst planning Trafalgar Square,
John Nash created Church Path and the range of buildings to the north. St
Martin's has always been at the heart of London, offering continued service
amidst an ever-changing city.
The work of this church today is informed by the practical Christianity
exemplified in the life of its patron saint. Martin, after a career in the Roman
army, entered the Christian Church and became Bishop of Tours. He is remembered
for an instinctive act of generosity, sharing his cloak with a beggar.
Paradoxically, the ultimate blessing was given to Martin by the beggar, who
returned to him in a dream as Christ.
The example of St Martin was followed by Dick Sheppard, Vicar of St Martin's
during World War I, who gave refuge to soldiers on their way to France. He saw
St Martin's as 'the church of the ever open door'. The doors have remained open
ever since.
St Martin's fight against homelessness was formalised with the foundation of the
Social Service Unit in 1948. The work continues today through The Connection at
St Martin's, which cares for around 7,500 individuals each year.
Changing needs in society were again evident in the 1960s. St Martin's was
concerned for the welfare of new arrivals in the emerging Chinatown and welcomed
a Chinese congregation. Today, the Ho Ming Wah Chinese People's Day Centre
provides vital services for the Chinese community in London.
Throughout the 20th century, St Martin's has also looked beyond its own doors
and played an active role in wider social, humanitarian and international
issues. Architecturally, spiritually, culturally and socially, St Martin's has
helped to form the world around it.
James Gibbs' design has been imitated across North America and throughout the
world.
St Martin's was involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the founding of many
charitable organisations, including Amnesty International, Shelter and The Big
Issue.
The Vicar's Christmas Appeal on BBC Radio 4 has been broadcast annually since
1924, now raising over £500,000 a year for disadvantaged people across the
country.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields has become one of the world's foremost
chamber ensembles.
St Martin
Thanks to St Martin's first biographer,
Sulpicius Severus, we know a great deal about the life of this humble saint.
Martin was born in AD 316 in Pannonia, today part of Hungary and was baptised at
eighteen years old, rejecting the old religion adhered to by his mother and
father. Reluctant to join the Roman army, he was obliged by law to take the
military oath, which he then felt compelled to obey. As a soldier posted in
Amiens in France, the eighteen year old Martin rode through the city gate one
bitter winter's night and saw an almost naked beggar huddled against the
stonework. Martin cut his cloak in two with his sword and gave half to the
beggar. That night, in a dream, Christ appeared to Martin in the form of the
beggar to thank him and next day Martin rushed to be baptised.
Martin could never quite reconcile war with his Christian beliefs and eventually
he gave it up to become a "soldier of Christ". Hounded out of his hometown, he
became a recluse on an island near Milan where he founded a monastery called
Ligug for the disciples who came to him. It is whilst on the island that he is
said to have performed the first of many miracles.
When the Bishop of Tours, France, died, the townspeople tricked Martin into
visiting the town so that they could make him Bishop. On taking up the post, he
insisted on living as a monk in a cell, rejecting the offer of a palace. Martin
lived to be over 80 years old and through his travelling from house to house and
speaking to people about God, many people found Christ. St Martin's day is on 11
November, which is the day he was buried in the Cemetery of the Poor in Tours."