The ceilings of the old burial vaults were prone to leaking when it rained	The old underground spaces were cramped and damp with no natural sunlight

The challenge

St Martin-in-the-Fields is a vibrant community, welcoming, worshipping and working with over 700,000 people who pass through its doors every year, but without action now, it would have been forced to end many of its valuable activities before the end of this decade.

After generations of use much of the paintwork in the church is cracked and peeling, www.andrewputler.com

Those who use St Martin's have been struggling with failing buildings, unable to cope with their contemporary uses, for too long. For example, innovative social care work was undertaken in nineteenth century burial vaults that were condemned as unfit for the dead in the 1850s. These crumbling, dank and leaky spaces had to be replaced with buildings fit for the 21st Century. These conditions meant that St Martin's was faced with a great challenge and also a great opportunity for renewal.

Read more about the various St Martin's spaces on these pages.