Church Of St Martin

St Martin's Church was rebuilt between about 1482 and 1485 on the site of an earlier church, with some older fabric surviving in the tower. The building was re-ordered in 1845 by the architect Edward Browning, and the Cecil Chapel was extended to the north in 1865.

Exterior

The church is built of limestone ashlar with lead roofs, and the exterior is entirely of the late 15th century. It comprises a chancel with north and south chapels, a nave with north and south aisles that clasp the west tower, and a south porch.

The nave, aisles and chancel have embattled parapets. The windows are typical of late Perpendicular work, with vertical tracery; those on the south side have embattled transoms. A polygonal rood stair turret with a spire stands in the angle between the north chapel and north aisle.

The two-storeyed south porch has embattled parapets and an outer opening enriched with numerous tiny mouldings, each with its own respond. The ground floor features a shallow tierceron star vault with intermediate ribs carried by demi-angels holding shields bearing the arms of the see of Lincoln. An external stone stair turret with a conical roof provides access to the upper floor. The south door has wave-moulded jambs and a four-centred head.

The four-stage tower stands over the west bay of the nave and has an ornate embattled parapet with tall pinnacles. Squinches for an intended spire are present, but the spire was never built. The west door has wave mouldings, and the three-light west window has a label that continues into a string course, motifs widely used throughout the interior. The belfry windows have two pairs of openings separated by a tall central mullion, a feature also found on other Stamford churches.

Interior

The interior follows a consistent late 15th-century design, though weather courses from an earlier church survive internally on the east, north and south faces of the tower. These indicate that the earlier building had much lower and more steeply pitched roofs. A small opening in the tower above the former nave gable was originally an external window.

The chancel arch, the two-bay arcade to the north (Burghley) chapel, the single opening to the south chapel, and the four-bay nave arcades are all of similar design, with lofty arches of two wave-moulded orders and labels continuing into string courses. The half-round responds have polygonal capitals and bases, and in the arcades they form quatrefoil piers. The nave arcades have angel corbels in the spandrels holding shields with the arms of 15th-century bishops of Lincoln. These were apparently inserted after the completion of the arcades and were probably originally intended to hold statues.

The south chapel is continuous with the south aisle, but an arch between the north aisle and chapel was inserted in the 19th century when the north chapel was extended. A steeply pitched two-bay arcade divides the chapel from east to west. The arcade between the Burghley chapel and the chancel is blocked in the east bay by Lord Burghley's tomb and in the west bay by the Burghley pews; access is mainly through a northeast door.

The tower stands over the west bay of the nave and is enclosed by the aisles. The tall, narrow tower arches to north, south and east are similar in design to the rest of the building. The lower part of the tower is vaulted.

Fittings and Furnishings

The church was refurnished in 1844–45 to designs by Edward Browning and retains an excellent and very complete suite of fittings from this date. Low box pews in the nave have ends, doors and fronts decorated with richly carved trefoiled arches in Early Decorated style. The choir stalls, reading desk and pulpit feature Perpendicular-style blind tracery and carved figures.

The Marquess of Exeter's pew, which unusually remains facing south into the chancel, comprises three box pews larger than those in the nave, with strapwork designs complementing the adjacent Cecil tombs. These pews entirely block the western arch of the chapel arcade, but access between chapel and chancel is provided by a clever hinged section in the front pew.

The unusual chancel tiles, laid in geometric patterns with bands of fine brass tracery panels inset in areas more prone to wear, are contemporary with the 1840s work. A delicate early 20th-century screen with figures including St George stands under the tower arch.

Some medieval furnishings survive. A re-cut medieval stone altar slab is reused in the 19th-century high altar. An octagonal early 14th-century font with traceried sides stands on a 19th-century carved base. There are 15th-century piscinas in both the chancel and the south chapel, with a further recess in the chancel, possibly a former sedilia. A small amount of 15th-century painting in a damask pattern survives on the chancel arch.

The south aisle roof is 15th century and has a moulded ridge and principals. The other roofs were redone in the 19th century. Several medieval doors survive, including those to the tower and porch vices and to the chamber over the porch. The royal arms dated 1758 were overpainted in 1808.

Stained Glass

Five windows contain fine late 15th-century glass, reset in 1759–60 by the noted glazier Peckitt of York. The glass in the east window may be partly original to St Martin's, but most was removed from Tattershall church in 1757 and given to the Earl of Exeter. It was installed at St Martin's in 1759–60 and combines figural and heraldic panels with elegant marquetry-style geometric panels made up of quarries.

Monuments

There is a very fine group of monuments to the Cecil family, Lords Burghley and later Earls of Exeter of nearby Burghley House, in the north (Burghley) chapel.

These include a monument to Richard Cecil, died 1552, and Jane his wife, died 1578, showing kneeling figures under an elaborate cornice; and a large free-standing monument to William Cecil, first Lord Burghley, died 1598, under the north chapel arch. This is executed in coloured marbles with a figure on a tomb chest under an arched canopy supported on paired columns. Both monuments are attributed to Cornelius Cure. The Burghley monument is among the most imposing of all Elizabethan funerary monuments, as befits Burghley's historical stature.

Also in the chapel is a monument to John Cecil, fifth Earl of Exeter, and Anne (Cavendish) his wife, dated 1704. This neo-classical statuary group is by Pierre-Étienne Monnot, a French sculptor working in Rome who also designed statuary for Burghley House. It is one of the finest tombs of its day in the country, displaying strong antique tendencies as befits its Roman creation.

There are also a number of good 18th- and 19th-century wall tablets including a provincial tablet to the Dutch portrait painter William Wissing, died 1687, and an unusual ceramic panel in the north wall to Thomas Goodrich, died 1885, described as 'a rare cricketer'. Some 18th- and early 19th-century floor slabs and a group of 19th-century hatchments are also present.

Historical Context

St Martin's may have been among the buildings damaged in the sack of Stamford by Lancastrian forces in 1461, as it was said to be ruinous in 1473. Rebuilding was started in 1482 and completed in 1485. The heraldry in the nave corbels relates to Chedworth, Bishop of Lincoln (1452–71), Russell, Bishop of Lincoln (1480–94), Rotherham (Scott), Archbishop of York (1480–1500), and probably Shirwood, Bishop of Durham (1485–94), probably indicating patronage of the rebuilding work. The glass also has heraldry for Russell, Rotherham and Chedworth, as well as Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln (1421–31).

The church was closely associated with the Cecil family of nearby Burghley House, and the Marquess of Exeter was the patron of the mid-19th-century restorations by Stamford architect Edward Browning.