St Martha’s Church is a lonely chapel high on a hill under an ever changing sky. Perched 574 feet up and with no road leading to it, it is only accessible by climbing a steep woodland path.
Although recorded in the Doomsday Book, no trace of the original Saxon chapel remains. In 1745 the church was wrecked by a huge explosion which rocked the hill and brought the tower crashing to the ground. This was caused by one of several accidental blasts at the gunpowder works tucked under the southern slopes of the hill. The church was rebuilt in 1850 incorporating many of the original features.
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