History of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Anglican Church

St. Martin-in-the-Fields was founded in 1890 in the home of Mr. Ira Doane on Franklin Avenue.  The parish moved to its original site, a frame building on Perth Avenue, later that same year.  The church building was destroyed by fire in 1912 and soon after the parish moved to its present location.  The “basement” church (now the parish hall) was completed in 1914 with seating for 250.  The upper church, with seating for 450, cost $108,000 was dedicated on May 5^th, 1922.

The dedication service celebrated many of the beautiful architectural features of the church which you can see on a tour around the building.  On entering the main west doors of the church, and looking up, you will be able to see the War Memorial window high in the west wall.  The window, dedicated to the memory of those parishioners who gave their lives during the First World War, portrays the Crucifixion.  The eleven stained glass windows in the nave (see the section marked Photographs on the website) feature angels holding banners that contain sayings of our Lord.  They were given by the children of the Sunday School.  The five smaller windows along the north aisle (also featured throughout this website)  show symbols of the Passion of Christ. 

The sanctuary itself is decorated in hand-carved oak imported from Belgium during the 1920’s.  The reredos (the ornamental screen rising behind the altar) was given in memory of the Reverend S. De Koven Seatman, rector from 1908 to 1919.  The two-manual Casavant organ was first played by Dr. Healey Willan as part of the Dedication festivities.

The church also contains several more recent additions including the sculpture “Hic Spiritus Est” , a modern work by David Partridge.  It was commissioned in 1990 to commemorate the parish’s centennial.  It hangs at the rear of the church, and to its left stands the statue of the Madonna and Child.  This is another example of Belgian wood carving, this time dating from the 1980’s.

The original parish of St. Martin encompassed one of the smallest geographic areas in the Diocese of Toronto.   However, with the closure of the neighbouring parishes of St. Jude on Roncesvalles Avenue in 1977 and later the parish of St. Mary & St. Cyprian just off Bloor St. West, the parish boundaries have been expanded to take in parts of these former parishes.