Church of St Martin

CHURCH OF ST MARTIN, CORNMARKET

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II*
List Entry Number:
1389755
Date first listed:
22-May-1954
List Entry Name:
Church of St Martin
Statutory Address:
CHURCH OF ST MARTIN, CORNMARKET
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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II*
List Entry Number:
1389755
Date first listed:
22-May-1954
List Entry Name:
Church of St Martin
Statutory Address 1:
CHURCH OF ST MARTIN, CORNMARKET

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
CHURCH OF ST MARTIN, CORNMARKET

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Worcestershire
District:
Worcester (District Authority)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
SO 85134 55002

Details

WORCESTER

SO8555SW CORNMARKET
620-1/13/204 Church of St Martin
22/05/54

GV II*

Parish church. 1768-1772, architect Anthony Keck; with later
alterations including east window of 1855-62 by Hopkins.
Purple brick in Flemish bond with ashlar quoins, bands,
architraves and cornice; stuccoed porch; slate roof.
Rectangular preaching box of single tall storey and 5 bays
with three-stage west tower. Single-storey, single bay vestry
to south-east. Quoins to angles. Chamfered plinth. Continuous
sill band. North side: entrance to centre in projecting porch,
flight of 4 steps to 6-raised-and-fielded-panel double doors
with fanlight in surround of plain pilasters, frieze and
cornice with blind round-arched openings to porch returns.
Round-arched windows in quoined surrounds. Frieze and
modillion cornice. Low coped parapet. South side has similar
fenestration and embellishments. Tower has quoins to angles;
entrance to lower stage on north side, 6-flush-panel door with
fanlight in plain reveals and timber surround; upper stage has
round-arched belfry openings with imposts, keystones and sills
on feet in tooled architraves; cavetto-moulded cornice and
surmounting balustrade with rod-on-vase balusters and finials
to angles. East end: continuous sill band. 2 outer
round-arched windows. To centre a taller round-arched window
with cusped lights and rose to head with border of
quatrefoils. Pedimented gable and oculus with quoined
surround.
INTERIOR: derived from Gibbs's St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Unfluted Ionic colonnades divide space into aisled nave with
shallow chancel; to aisles are elaborate scrolled corbels
surmounted by modillion entablature; groin vaulting to aisles,
flat nave ceiling with penetrations from the arcades and
central panel with cornice. Chancel has tall, semi-circular
arch on square pillars with panelled decoration, arch
inscribed 'worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness'. West
gallery has chunky rod-on-vase balusters. Panelled dado with
two levels of fielded panelling; pew backs have fielded panels
(pews probably re-arranged in C19). Moulded altar rails and
lectern. Entrance to gallery, double
8-raised-and-fielded-panel door. Minton tile floor. Octagonal
Victorian font. Victorian stained lass depicts (unusually) the
Annunciation. Monuments from earlier edifice include Baroque
wall cartouches to William Johnson d.1711;
to John Hughes d.1726; to Grismond family.
HISTORICAL NOTE: this edifice replaces a medieval church on
the site. One of an important group of four churches in
Worcester which, in their present form, are largely eighteenth
century, with Church of St Swithin, Church Street; Church of
St Nicholas, The Cross and Church of All Saints, Broad Street
(qqv). Their towers, together with the Cathedral (qv) and St
Andrew's Church Tower, Deansway (qv), form the most
significant feature of Worcester's skyline.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner: N: Worcestershire:
Harmondsworth: 1968-1985: 295, 319-20; Colvin H: A
Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840:
London: 1978-: 481).

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
488706
Legacy System:
LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Colvin, H M, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, (1978), 481
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Worcestershire, (1968), 295

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Church of St Martin

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 23-Jul-2026 at 01:39:49.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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