Overstrand, Norfolk - St. Martin
St. Martin's church replaced an earlier one that was washed away in 1399.
The building was in a very bad state by the 19th. century, with only part of its nave still in use. The decision was made to build a new church, Christ Church, in the churchyard beside St. Martin in 1867, St Martin was left as a picturesque ruin. However, change was already in the air, for in 1883 the journalist Clement Scott had eulogised this area in an article written for the Daily Telegraph, and the legend of Poppyland, a dreamlike English idyll, was born.
The north Norfolk coast became a popular holiday destination, thanks to Scott's writing and the opening up of the area by the railways. The characterless Victorian church did not fit in with Scott's vision of what Poppyland was, and so it was that Christ Church was demolished, and the ruin of St. Martin's was restored between 1911 and 1914 to something approaching its former glory. The architects were Cecil Upcher and AJ Lacey.
The church received Grade: II* listed building status on 4th. October 1960. (English Heritage Legacy ID: 224689).
Overstrand, Norfolk - St. Martin
St. Martin's church replaced an earlier one that was washed away in 1399.
The building was in a very bad state by the 19th. century, with only part of its nave still in use. The decision was made to build a new church, Christ Church, in the churchyard beside St. Martin in 1867, St Martin was left as a picturesque ruin. However, change was already in the air, for in 1883 the journalist Clement Scott had eulogised this area in an article written for the Daily Telegraph, and the legend of Poppyland, a dreamlike English idyll, was born.
The north Norfolk coast became a popular holiday destination, thanks to Scott's writing and the opening up of the area by the railways. The characterless Victorian church did not fit in with Scott's vision of what Poppyland was, and so it was that Christ Church was demolished, and the ruin of St. Martin's was restored between 1911 and 1914 to something approaching its former glory. The architects were Cecil Upcher and AJ Lacey.
The church received Grade: II* listed building status on 4th. October 1960. (English Heritage Legacy ID: 224689).