GreaterLondonTRAFALGARSQUAREStMartinFields(wikilaurentCC-BY-SA3.0)1 WikiLaurent

St Martin in the Fields

In 1542 Henry VIII rebuilt the church already on this site to keep plague victims from being carried through his palace grounds because at the time it was an isolated spot in the fields.

Trafalgar Square, Greater London

Opening times

All are welcome to visit the church of St Martin in the Fields at the following times:
Monday, Tuesday, Friday: 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm.
Wednesday: 8.30am to 1.15pm and 2pm to 5pm.
Thursday: 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm.
Saturday: 9.30am to 6pm.
Sunday: 3.30pm to 5pm.

Address

Trafalgar Square
Greater London
WC2N 4JJ

It was replaced in 1726 by this lovely temple, designed by James Gibbs, which boasts an imposing Classical pediment supported by huge Corinthian columns, and a tall steeple topped with a gilt crown, a design that looks, according to one critic, 'as though Wren had been to Italy'.

Gibbs was certainly inspired by Christopher Wren, as the interior, with its ceiling of painted and gilded plaster panels, shows.

Ingenious renovations in 2007'09 have introduced more light, renewed the pews and stone flooring, and exposed the crypt's brickwork.

  • Spectacular stained glass

  • Social heritage stories

  • National heritage here

  • Magnificent memorials

  • Glorious furnishings

  • Captivating architecture

  • Train station within 250m

  • Ramp or level access available on request

  • Church shop or souvenirs

  • Café in church

  • Bus stop within 100m

  • Accessible toilets in church

  • Church of England

  • Repair Grant, £5,000, 2007

  • Our Repair Grants funded urgent repair work to help keep churches open.

Contact information

Other nearby churches

St Paul

Covent Garden, Greater London

The great Inigo Jones designed this Italianate masterpiece, completed in 1663.

Notre Dame de France

Soho, Greater London

Corfiato’s church is important as an advanced design showing the influence of the Liturgical Movement, and as a showcase of Art Sacré, notably the murals in the Lady Chapel by Jean Cocteau.

St James

Piccadilly, Greater London

St James’s church, built by Sir Christopher Wren, was consecrated in 1684, towards the end of the most turbulent century in England’s religious history.