Located on the north end of Trafalgar Square, this old church dates back to at least 1222, although it was rebuilt in 1542 and 1721. In 2006, a gravesite from around 410 was found here.
Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"The church survived the Great Fire of London which did not reach as far as the City of Westminster, but was replaced with a new building, designed by James Gibbs in 1721 and completed five years later. The design was criticised widely at the time, but subsequently became extremely famous, being copied particularly widely in the United States. St Andrews Church, Egmore, Chennai is a copy of this church. The church is essentially rectangular, with a great pediment in the Classical style supported by a row of huge Corinthian columns. The high steeple is topped with a gilt crown. Gibbs was certainly inspired by Sir Christopher Wren as the interior is very similar to St James's in Piccadilly.
Various 18th-century notables were soon buried in the new church, including the émigré sculptor Roubiliac (who had settled in this area of London) and the furniture-maker Thomas Chippendale (whose workshop was in the same street as the church, St Martin's Lane), along with Jack Sheppard in the now lost adjoining churchyard.
The church also had its own almhouses and pension-charity, which was established on 21 Sep 1886. Its 19 trustees administered almshouses for women, providing them with a weekly stipend. The almshouses were built in 1818 on part of the parish burial ground in Camden Town and St Pancras and replaced ones built in 1683."
As for the book, Good Reads (
visit link) informs us:
"St Martin In The Fields
by Malcolm Johnson
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St Martin's has a long history stretching back more than eight hundred years - during which its life has rarely been dull. A place of prayer and of action, which Simon Jenkins recently described as "England's most loved, most photographed and most imitated church." Its clergy and congregation have always been interesting and often eccentric (two vicars became archbishops and two went to prison) and the author describes them with humour, and, as the Bishop of London says in his Foreword, 'relish and reasonable discretion'. In the first World War, Dick Sheppard, the vicar, opened the crypt so that troops returning from the trenches might find a place to eat and rest. This tradition of hospitality continues as the Connection at St Martin's welcomes 250 homeless people of all ages every weekday. Since the days when Handel played the Sunday voluntaries on the organ, there has always been a fine musical tradition and six concerts are now held each week. The world famous Academy of St Martin in the Fields, founded in 1958 by Sir Neville Marriner and the church organist, John Churchill, has gone from strength to strength as the author describes in detail in his very readable narrative. St Martin's is the parish church of London and, after 80 years of broadcasting, has also become the parish church of the Commonwealth, visited by thousands of tourists every year. Gibbs' historic building, consecrated in 1726, has survived with remarkably little alteration; but in 2005 the most exciting and ambitious development in St Martin's long history will begin when, without altering the exterior, today's unique mix of church, care and commerce will be given rooms and spaces fit for the 21st century. This well-researched and well-written full history of the church - the first to appear since 1916 - will be warmly welcomed well beyond London and, indeed, beyond Britain. (less)
Hardcover
Published January 8th 2005 by Phillimore & Company
Original TitleSt Martin-in-the-Fields
ISBN 1860773230 (ISBN13: 9781860773235)
Edition LanguageEnglish"