St Martin's Church, Exeter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Martin's Church |
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| Location | Cathedral Close, Exeter, Devon, England |
| Built | 15th century |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Church of St Martin | |
| Designated | 29 January 1953 |
| Reference no. | 1169625 |
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St Martin's Church is a very old church in Exeter, Devon, England. It was built a long time ago, in the 15th century. This church is a special historic building. It is listed as a Grade I listed building. This means it is a very important historical site. Today, it is a redundant church. This means it is no longer used for regular church services. Instead, it is looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust. This group helps protect old churches. The Trust took over caring for the church on August 1, 1995.
Exploring St Martin's Church
The church is built from a local stone called Heavitree stone. Its roofs are covered with slate. The oldest part of the building is likely the chancel arch. This arch might be from an even earlier church. That first church was blessed on July 6, 1065. This was done by Bishop Leofric. You can still see signs of very old Anglo-Saxon building styles. Look high up in the north-east corner of the main part of the church. The tall tower was added much later, in 1675.
What You'll See Inside
Inside the church, you will find many old items. There are monuments from the 17th and 18th centuries. These are like memorials for important people. You can also see a reredos and altar rails. A reredos is a decorated screen behind the altar. Some of these items were moved here from another church. That church, St Paul's, was taken down in 1936. The south window has a few small pieces of very old medieval glass. At the west end, there is a wooden gallery. It has painted designs on it. These include the symbols of Bishop Trelawny (who was bishop from 1688 to 1707). It also shows the symbols of the City of Exeter. Both of these are next to the royal coat of arms.
See also
