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| St. Martin's Church |
| St. Martin's Square, Basildon |
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Location: St. Martin's Church Photographer: Thomas Barnes Year of photo: Circa 1983 Copyright: Thomas Barnes Source: Thomas Barnes Comments: St. Martin's Church Basildon seen before the creation of St. Martin's Walk. |
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Location: St. Martin's Walk Photographer: Bix Year of photo: 10/10/2002 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: St. Martin's Church October 2002. |
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Location: St. Martin's Square Photographer: Bix Year of photo: 23/10/2002 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: The Belltower - St. Martin's Square. |
| St. Martin's Church |
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St. Martin's of Tours Church in Basildon Town Centre was
officially opened on 10th November 1962 in a consecration service conducted by the Bishop of
Chelmsford; Rt. Rev. John Gerhard Tiarks. Its architects were the husband and wife team of Ken
S. & Trena N. Cotton. The Rector at the time of opening was Reverend William Winfield. A
foundation stone had earlier been laid on
15/10/1960 by then Chairman of Basildon Development Corporation, Sir Humfrey Gale. To compliment the church three separate water features with fountains were built which survived until the late 1960s. The largest was retained and survived in its original length well into the 1970s before being greatly reduced to its present length. It is now behind an enclosure and fitted with five fountains. The Church received a royal visitor on October 9th, 1968 when Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent (Katharine Windsor) dedicated the new exterior porch and Christ sculpture. The Christ figure was designed by the artist Thomas Baylis Huxley-Jones and completed in fibreglass. It was to be his last completed work as a short time later he was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Chelmsford where he died on 10th December 1968. A Garden of Remembrance adjacent to the church opened on November 3rd, 1973, in a dedication service conducted by Rev. Peter Grimwood. Standing within the garden is a statue depicting St. Martin sharing his cloak with a beggar, which was created by notable sculptor and artist Peter Foster. To the front of the church was a large green which years later became St. Martin's Garden and was officially dedicated by the Bishop of Chelmsford; the Rt. Rev. (Albert) John Trillo on 21st June 1984. Basildon Council, Basildon Development Corporation and Marks and Spencer (in celebration of their centenary year) all contributed to the cost. A refurbishment of the garden was dedicated on 27th June 2006 by the Bishop of Bradwell, the Rt. Rev. Laurence Alexander Green. The public paved area with seating is called St. Michael's Walk. Another feature to the front of the church is a stone war memorial with the inscription: We Will Remember Them. It stands approximately 3ft high on a plinth in a seated enclosure. In 1989 the plain exterior glass was replaced with stained glass designed and made by Joseph Nuttgens. A special service attended by The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh was held on 12th March 1999 to mark the official opening of the Belltower and the first 50 years of Basildon new town. The church on opening stood between two roads in the original Pagel Mead. In the early 1970s Pagel Mead was partly built over when the Marks and Spencer building was completed and the left curve at the end of Great Oaks became Pagel Mead which it remained until around 1997 when St. Martin's Square was completed. The remainder became unused before finally disappearing altogether when Church Walk House was constructed around 1977. Through traffic to Fodderwick and Towngate ceased when the Westgate Shopping Park was completed in 1999. Text written 2005 with revisions 2005-2008,2010. Copyright © 2005-2008,2010, Basildon History Online. All rights reserved. Related external Weblink: St. Martin's Church Website |
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