St Michael & All Angels, Horsted Parva

St Peter, Codford

St George, Ruishton

St Martin, Higher Town, St Martin's, Isles of Scilly

Each of the inhabited Isles of Scilly has its own church, with all but Tresco dedicated to the same saint as the island itself. Although the islands have a Christian history stretching back into the post-Roman Celtic period, the present churches date from the 19th Century.

The little church of St Martin sits on the edge of Higher Town, the main settlement on the island. It was built in 1866 for Augustus Smith, who, as Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly between 1834 and 1872, introduced a number of reforms to develop the islands' infrastructure and economy, most notably through the introduction of crops of early potatoes and cut flowers. It replaced a 17th century church built on the same site, which had been damaged in a storm.

The church itself is built of the local granite, a single cell comprising nave and sanctuary, with a west porch beneath a simple bellcote. Flanking extensions were added to the porch in the 20th Century, making it wider than the church itself. Like the rest of the island, its churchyard walls overflow with banks of exotic flowers, a sign of the islands' mild climate. The east wall of the church contains a stone, said to be the socketed base of a mediaeval stone cross. 

Inside, the interior is plain and workmanlike, with a varnished wooden ceiling and matching pews. The west gallery is currently out of use, but there is a simple octagonal font and a vivid two-light stained glass East window by Kempe, depicting St Martin cutting his cloak for the beggar.

The church has a weekly Sunday service provided by visiting priests during the summer months, and a Friday service out of season. The church is open daily for visits and private prayer.

St Martin, Higher Town, St Martin's Isles of Scilly TR25 0QL

St Just-in-Penwith

St Mary Magdalene, Oxford

St Mary, Beverley

St John & St Martin, Beverley (Beverley Minster)

All Saints, Market Weighton

St Michael, Alnwick

St Paul, North Sunderland

Holy Trinity, Embleton

St Mary, Lindisfarne

St Aidan, Bamburgh

St Ebba, Beadnell

 

St Martin, Zeals

St Martin sits in the pretty village of Zeals, a short drive from the famous house and gardens at Stourhead. It's a tranquil spot, despite the faint roar of traffic on the A303 nearby.

The church is an early example by George Gilbert Scott, and was paid for by the Grove family of nearby Zeals House. The design adopts Decorated Gothic throughout, and reflects the growing confidence and maturity of Scott in the Gothic Revival style, which he adopted only a few years before. It was completed in 1846. 

The church comprises a nave, chancel, north vestry and south porch, with a tower and spire added in 1876. The latter is something of an idiosyncratic design, with a two-stage square tower, surmounted by an octagonal upper bell-stage with angled pinnacles, and topped with a spire, which is itself detailed with little gabled windows.

The interior is dominated by the triple-moulded chancel arch and the hammer-beam roof, the east beams of which sit against the east nave wall, and seem to bounce off the chancel arch. The windows in the chancel all contained stained glass; the tracery of the three-light east window is particularly delicate and attractive.

The furnishings are all Victorian, and include a Sweetland organ and a banner of St Martin in the pre-Raphaelite style, donated by Julia Chafyn Grove, who inherited the Zeals estate in 1865.

The church has a weekly mid-week Communion and a Sunday service once a month, shared as part of the Upper Stour benefice.

St Martin, Portnells Lane, Zeals BA12 6NL

St Barbara, Ashton-under-Hill

The Priory Church, Great Malvern

St Mary, Kempley

The Abbey Church of the Holy Cross, Pershore (Pershore Abbey)

All Saints, Evesham

St Cuthbert, Copnor, Portsmouth

Holy Trinity, Meldreth

All Saints, Melbourn

Our Lady of the Assumption & the English Martyrs (RC), Cambridge

All Saints, Hinton Ampner

St Mary the Virgin (Reading Minster), Reading