The church of St Martin in the Bull Ring in Birmingham 5, England is a parish church of the Church of England. It is the original parish church of Birmingham and stands between the Bull Ring shopping centre and the markets.
The church is a Grade II* listed building. The current rector is the Revd Canon Stewart W. Jones.
The present Victorian church was built on the site of a 13th-century predecessor, which was documented in 1263. The church was enlarged in medieval times and the resulting structure consisted of a lofty nave and chancel, north and south aisles and a northwest tower with spire.
In 1547, although no record is kept to indicate when the first clock appears in Birmingham, during this year the King's Commissioners report that the Guild of the Holy Cross are responsible "ffor keeping the Clocke and the Chyme" at a cost of four shillings and four pence a year at St Martin's Church. The next recorded mention of a clock is in 1613. The earliest known clock makers in the town arrived in 1667 from London.
In 1690, the churchwardens "dressed the church in brick". All was cased in brick with the exception of the spire.
John Cheshire rebuilt 40 feet of the spire in 1781, which was strengthened by an iron spindle running up its centre for a length of 105 feet. It was secured to the sidewalls at every ten feet by braces. In 1801, several metres from the top of the spire were replaced after they were found to have decayed. The tops of the four pinnacles surrounding the main spire were also rebuilt. By 1808, the spire had been struck by lightning three times.
In 1853, the brick casing was removed from the tower by Philip Charles Hardwick, who added the open-air pulpit. The church also contained an organ, the reedwork of which had been done by John Snetzler. However, the pipes were found to be ineffective due to their proximity to the church roof and walls.
In 1875, John Thackray Bunce published a book, History of Old St. Martin's, Birmingham, illustrated with paintings by Allen Edward Everitt.
In 1873, the church was demolished and rebuilt by architect J. A. Chatwin, preserving the earlier tower and spire. During the demolition, medieval wall paintings and decorations were discovered in the chancel, including one showing the charity of St Martin dividing his cloak with a beggar. Two painted beams were also found behind the plaster ceiling.
The exterior is built of rockfaced Grimshill stone. The interior is of sandstone with an open timber roof, which shows the influence of the great hammerbeam roof of Westminster Hall. The beams are decorated with fine tracery and end in large carvings of angels. The roof weights 93 tons (94.5 tonnes), spans 22 ft (6.7m) over the 100 ft (30.4m) long nave and is 60 ft (18.2m) high.
The Victorian floor tiles are by Minton and display the quartered arms of the de Bermingham family.
From east to west the length of the church is 155 ft., including the chancel, the arch of which rises to 60 ft.; the width, including nave (25 ft.) and north and south aisles, is 67 ft.; at the transepts the width is 104 ft.
The South Transept has a Burne-Jones window, made by William Morris in 1875. This window was taken down for safe keeping the day before a World War II bomb dropped beside the church on 10 April 1941, destroying all remaining windows. The West window is a 1954 copy of the Henry Hardman 1875 window destroyed in the Blitz.
As part of the Bull Ring development in 2003 the church was cleaned and repaired.
St Martin in the Bull Ring is open to visitors: Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 16:30, Sunday from 09:00 to 19:00.
At least late C13 in origin and the mother church of Birmingham. Sandstone. Large with nave and aisles, new tower and spire.
Repaired in late C17 and late C18. Tower and spire restored by P C Hardwick in 1835-5 and the rest of the church in 1873-5 demolished, rebuilt and enlarged by the addition of transepts and an extended east end under the direction of J A Chatwin.
Restored, after bomb damage in 1956-7. Inside, 2 recumbent effigies of the C14 and one of circa 1400 in the north transept and a fourth of circa 1500 in the south chapel; also the south transept window designed by Edward Burne-Jones and made by Morris, 1875-80.