St Martin-in-the-Fields

St Martin-in-the-Fields
The church in 2014
St Martin-in-the-Fields
OS grid reference	TQ 30102 80541
Location	Trafalgar Square, Westminster London, WC2
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Previous denomination	Catholic
Website	www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint Martin
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Architect(s)	James Gibbs
Architectural type	Church
Style	Neoclassical
Years built	1721–1726
Specifications
Number of spires	1
Spire height	192 feet (59 m)
Bells	12 (full circle)
Tenor bell weight	29 long cwt 1 qr 1 lb (3,277 lb or 1,486 kg)
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	London
Archdeaconry	London (previously Charing Cross)
Deanery	Westminster (St Margaret)[usurped]
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Sam Wells
Laity
Director of music	Andrew Earis[1]
Churchwarden(s)	Chris Braganza Adrian Harris
Historic site
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Church of St Martin in the Fields
Designated	24 February 1958
Reference no.	1217661[2]

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 to 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.

It 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.