St Martin-in-the-Fields

On the last Saturday in November, we met on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields with flasks of mulled wine and boxes of mince pies to attend our first candle lit carol concert of the Christmas season. As the name suggests, the original medieval church stood in a large grassy area, but today the current 1720s James Gibbs design sits on the edge of the iconic Trafalgar Square where tourists loiter and take photographs, whatever the season.

We pushed and shoved underneath the tower gallery and up the stairs warm up and find our seats. From the oak gallery where we could see down into the nave and across into the chancel where the choir where warming up. The beautiful interior, noted for it's plasterwork and vaulted ceiling, was restored in 2008 by Eric Parry Architects. The new eastern window, by artist Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne, is perhaps the most iconic permanent installation inside the newly refurbished church.

At first Gibbs's design was quite controversial, but it soon became the model for many other churches, in particular in the British colonies in North America. The interior is noted for the beautiful plasterwork decoration on the barrel-vaulted ceiling, the work of Giovanni Battista Bagutti and Chrysostom Wilkins. Outside, take a close look at the beautiful church tower - clearly inspired by the steeples of Christopher Wren. But the star is really the monumental portico. Its pediment is supported by eight massive Corinthian columns. On either side of the church are two more columns, creating the impression of a portico that wraps itself around the church.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields is the official parish church of Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace; George I was even churchwarden here. You can see several references to this royal connection in and on the church: to the left of the main altar is the royal pew, and the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom embellishes the ceiling.

There's usually little activity in crypts, but the crypt underneath St. Martin-the-Fields is quite different: there's a restaurant - the 'Café in the Crypt' - and a souvenir shop. The crypt, accessible from the north side, is also used to hold temporary exhibits of modern art. We enjoyed hot mulled wine and mince pies in the crypt during the carol service interval.

The beautiful choral music resonating through the voluminous church space put us in true Christmassy spirits. Candlelight threw shadows of the decorative splendour of this space making our visit especially unique to experience.