Community directory

St Martin (Knebworth)

Until the 19th Century St Mary’s was the only place of worship in the village. In 1880 the Church of England began operating in New Knebworth, when a Mission Room was built in Gun Lane, and a new church, St Martin’s, was opened in 1915.
St Martin’s church was designed by the eminent architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869 - 1944) and reflects his own idiosyncratic style.

Lutyens’ original plan was for a much larger building and included a nave with three bays and an apse at the east end. The west end was to include a portico with steps; this was changed to a plain wall on a ‘temporary’ basis because of World War 1, though in fact the most unattractive plain brick wall persisted until 1963/4 when the church was completed to its present design by Sir Albert Richardson (1860 - 1964).

Richardson was a friend and admirer of Lutyens. He designed the western extension to the nave (17 feet long), a cupola for the bell, and the entrance lobby and ‘Rector’s Office’.

Services:

* Sunday:
Holy Communion Service - every 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Sunday at 10.00am for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Family Service - every 4th Sunday at 10.00am for ¾ hour.

* Thurdays:
Holy Communion - Said Common Worship Service.
Every Thursday at 10.00am for 35 minutes.