Description

CAMDEN

TQ2885SW VICARS ROAD
798-1/41/1670 (South side)
10/06/54 Church of St Martin

GV I

Church. 1864-6. By EB Lamb for JD Allcroft; later chapel at
north-west corner after 1915 by his son EB Lamb junior.
Kentish ragstone rubble with fine dressings. Tiled gabled
roofs with fishscale diaper patterns.
EXTERIOR: west part of nave 3 bays, aisleless, then 3 aisled
bays with the transept cutting into the nave and as high as
this, and with the other bays of the aisle treated as angle
chapels; polygonal apse narrower than the almost polygonal
south transept. Tall, 3 stage north tower (originally with
corner pinnacles) close to west end with attached, even taller
stair turret. Unusual modified Gothic design with eclectic and
original details. Imaginative Perpendicular windows with
eccentric cusping and heavy transoms, called "Tudor" by
Nikolaus Pevsner. To north of apse and on south side near east
end, small towers with broach spires.
INTERIOR: with elaborate carved hammerbeam roof throughout
resting on shafts which do not go down to the ground but start
from Cistercian-like brackets attached to each side of the
large square piers which stand between nave and aisles. Lamb's
choir stalls and pews, altar rails with pierced decoration,
font with cover and pulpit remain. Massive organ in south
choir aisle. Royal arms over south porch inside. Initials of
JBA (outside) and EBL (within). Vestry fully panelled. Stained
glass at east end contemporary with the church, as is the
mosaic spandrel decoration in the chancel. Mosaic floors.
Stained glass in nave dated 1905 and 1907: St Cecilia in
memory of Harriet Puzey, organist, one by Morris and Co.
Heraldic glass in transepts post-1945. Transept also has
commandment boards. Memorial to John Derby Allcroft 1821-93.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Allcroft was a wealthy glove manufacturer and
strong Evangelical who paid for several churches.
(Survey of London: Vol. XXIV, King's Cross Neighbourhood, St
Pancras IV: London: -1952: 144).

Listing NGR: TQ2816285282

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• St Martin's Church at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17526725

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover