St Martin-in-the-Fields marks 300 years with free crypt exhibition

St Martin-in-the-Fields in London has opened a free exhibition titled 'Celebrating 300 years: at the Heart and on the Edge' in its crypt, running from June to December 2026. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the show uncovers hidden stories from three centuries of the landmark. It begins outside with photographs by Jayne Lloyd, inspired by a notebook of drawings by Vanessa Tinker (died 2019), who weekly drew visitors at prayer or rest. Inside, a 1585 map shows the church surrounded by fields, and the 1830s creation of Trafalgar Square removed some entrance steps. During WWII, up to 2,000 people nightly crammed into the crypt for shelter before limits were set to 550. Research revealed the family of William Fatt, a Black Londoner appointed Royal chimney sweep in 1739, whose tombstone lies in the café. Another tombstone belongs to Richard James Said, 'a native of Africa' enslaved from age 12, who died aged 17 in 1810. The exhibition also highlights the church's role supporting London's Chinese community and features a print by Hedley Fitton (1900), a 1962 film on steeplejacks, and a drawing of the crypt as an air-raid shelter by Horace Knowles (1940s). The current vicar, Reverend Dr Sam Wells, posed with the original front door key. The church's tradition of sanctuary was evoked by Revd Dick Sheppard's 1914 vision of 'the church of the ever-open door.' An online exhibition and brass rubbing workshops are also available.