St Martin's Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church on Albany Road in

Roath Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district and community to the north-east of the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. There is no community council for the area which is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdow ...

, Cardiff, Wales.

History

Erected to serve what was then a growing suburb, the church was founded as a

tin tabernacle A tin tabernacle, also known as an iron church, is a type of prefabricated ecclesiastical building made from corrugated galvanised iron. They were developed in the mid-19th century initially in the United Kingdom. Corrugated iron was first us ...

in 1886. The present building replaced it in 1901, and the church became a separate parish in 1903. Its original

lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

was decorated by a Belgian refugee artist in gratitude for the kindness shown by the parishioners during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The original interior of the church was completely destroyed by an

incendiary bomb Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...

in February 1941. Services were held in the surviving choir vestry and in the neighbouring St Cyprian's church until the building was restored in full in 1955. During the restoration, the ornate tracery of the original windows was replaced with a plainer lancet type to increase the amount of light allowed through them. A new cloister fronting the street was consecrated by Archbishop Barry Morgan in 2011. In 2013 a mosaic of

Christ Pantocrator In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator ( grc-gre, Χριστὸς Παντοκράτωρ) is a specific depiction of Christ. ''Pantocrator'' or ''Pantokrator'', literally ''ruler of all'', but usually translated as "Almighty" or "all-po ...

by Aidan Hart was installed above the main entrance of the church. It was blessed by

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, St Martin's Church, Roath
Official Website
Churches completed in 1901 Roath, St Martin