St Martin's Church is an active Anglican church in

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Wald ...

, Hertfordshire, England. The building, which is designated

grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, was designed by

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

in an Italianate style. It is constructed in brick.

History

The church was built to serve the expanding settlement on the Great North Road near Knebworth railway station, over a mile from the medieval parish church St Mary and St Thomas. Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

there was a plan by the local landowners, the Bulwer-Lytton family, to develop Knebworth as a type of garden village. This plan was only partly realised, but it resulted in several commissions for Lutyens including a clubhouse for the local golf course and Homewood, a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish estate (house), estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house fr ...

for his mother-in-law, Edith Bulwer-Lytton, Countess of Lytton. Construction began in 1914, but the building was not completed according to the architect's intentions. When the church was consecrated in 1915, it was in an incomplete state because of cutbacks caused by World War I. The west front was added in the 1960s and was designed by Sir

Albert Richardson Albert Richardson may refer to: * Albert Richardson (architect) (1880–1964), English architect * Albert Richardson (priest) (1868–1905), English missionary to Africa and India * Albert Richardson (Wisconsin politician) (1864–1937), American po ...

. Richardson did not follow Lutyens' intention to give the church a portico, but his contribution has been described as "harmonious".

Interior

The plastered interior features limited use of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

. The aisles are separated from the nave by small arches on

Tuscan column The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but wit ...

s. The organ dates from the 1960s. Its pipes are in "tubs" on each site of the chancel entrance.

Conservation

On 27 May 1968, the church was designated a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Martin's Church, Knebworth

Buildings and structures in North Hertfordshire District Neoclassical architecture in Hertfordshire Works of Edwin Lutyens in England Knebworth Neoclassical church buildings in England

History

Interior

Conservation

See also

References

External links