shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited Kingdom

on the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square, London

St Martin-in-the-Fields

Name: St Martin-in-the-Fields — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— the white portico that has watched the square fill and empty.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“A Georgian church on the corner of Trafalgar Square, six Corinthian columns and a tall steeple over Duncannon Street. James Gibbs finished it in 1726 and every steepled white church in colonial America borrowed from it without asking. Inside, the choir sings Bach by candlelight on Tuesdays in winter. Below, the crypt is a café and a homeless centre, both of them quiet in the right way. The bells still tell the hour over the lions. from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

St Martin-in-the-Fields, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about St Martin-in-the-Fields

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

St Martin-in-the-Fields stands at the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, on a parish first recorded in the early thirteenth century when the site was still open ground between the City of London and Westminster. The present building was designed by the Scottish architect James Gibbs and completed in 1726, replacing a Tudor church on the same footprint. Gibbs's combination of a classical temple portico with a tall western steeple became one of the most copied templates in church architecture across the British world.

— informed by Wikipedia, Historic England — listing

— the visit

The church is open daily for prayer and visitors, with admission free and donations welcomed at the door. Music is the public face: free fifty-minute lunchtime concerts most weekdays at 1pm, and ticketed candlelit evening concerts of Bach, Vivaldi, and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields founded here by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958. Beneath the church, the Café in the Crypt sits on eighteenth-century gravestones, and The Connection at St Martin's has worked with people sleeping rough since 1948.

— informed by Official site, Academy of St Martin in the Fields

— where

United Kingdom · City of Westminster, London

— position

51.5089° N · 0.1264° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

0.05 km SW

Trafalgar Square

civic square

0.1 km W

National Gallery

art museum

0.5 km NE

Covent Garden

market district

St Martin-in-the-Fields

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery

Covent Garden

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about St Martin-in-the-Fields — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

Designed by James Gibbs and completed in 1726, replacing a Tudor church on the same site. The parish itself goes back to the early thirteenth century, when the ground between London and Westminster was still open fields.

Gibbs paired a Roman temple portico with a tall steeple over the west end, and engravings of his design travelled across the British world. New England's white-steeple parish church descends from this plan.

Yes. The church is open daily for prayer and visitors, with no admission charge. Music events and a Café in the Crypt are open most days; hours vary by season and concert calendar.

Free fifty-minute lunchtime recitals most weekdays at 1pm, ticketed candlelit evening concerts of Bach and Vivaldi, and concerts by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, founded at the church in 1958.

The Café in the Crypt, serving lunch and dinner over eighteenth-century floor stones, and the offices of The Connection at St Martin's, the homelessness charity active on the site since 1948.

The conductor and violinist Sir Neville Marriner, in 1958. The chamber orchestra still records and tours under the church's name and performs there several times each year.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that. Trafalgar Square is the city's pivot, and St Martin's is the building most Londoners actually walk past. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio reads as home, not landmark souvenir.

The portico whites and lamp-light golds sit well in English Traditional, Library Eclectic, and warm Modern Classic rooms with dark wood and book spines. Less at home in pure industrial or beach palettes.

Yes. Named-landmark art is visible across recent English Heritage–inflected design coverage, and a parish church reads more personal than a generic skyline print. A Medium above a mantel works.

Above a standard sofa, the single Large or a 4-tile Mural. Above a console, a Medium centred. For a long hall the 9-tile Mural carries the full portico and steeple.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist steam and splash and clean without streaking. The Glossy finish is best kept to a drier display wall.

A microfibre cloth and warm water. No bleach, ammonia, or abrasive cleaners. The colour lives in the surface and will not rub off, though harsh chemicals dull the finish over time.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every WenderVista piece in the studio's stained-glass and alcohol-ink language. Single studio, no licensed art in or out.

— if this one stayed with you