One of London's best-loved landmarks will fully re-open this autumn following a £36 million building project. The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, set in a corner of Trafalgar Square, has been shrouded in hoarding for many months but this will be stripped away before September 30, when services resume in a wonderful space restored to its 18th century glory.
This will be followed (October 1) with the reopening of the brick-vaulted Crypt and its award-winning Café in the Crypt – a former Les Routiers Café of the Year. It will offer British inspired menus and an additional 60 seats. Favourite dishes will be kept, notably its popular puddings. New live jazz nights will rock the crypt every other Wednesday night from Oct. 10.
A shop will reopen with new lines for Christmas, along with the London Brass Rubbing Centre. A full range of lunchtime and evening concerts resumes on Oct. 2. The work on the church will be finished in early 2008, when there will be a new entrance to the Crypt through a striking glass pavilion and new spaces including meeting rooms, the Dick Sheppard Chapel and Ho Ming Wah Chinese Community Centre and social care space. The churchyard is being redesigned to provide the public with space for contemplation and, inside, clear, hand-made glass will allow natural light to flood in. Services to 7,000 vulnerable people continue throughout the building work.
St. Martins-in-the-Fields was completed in 1726 by James Gibbs and its architecture has been replicated around the world, particularly in the USA. It has a fine musical tradition, playing host to great musicians including Handel and Mozart. The Academy of St. Martin is the world's most recorded chamber orchestra.
Website: www.smitf.org/campaign
Most Recent Comments