St Martin-on-the-Hill, Scarborough

St Martin-on-the-Hill stands on a quiet rise above Scarborough’s South Cliff. The parish church was built between 1862 and 1863 to designs by George Frederick Bodley. Its saddleback roof and north tower rise above a nave with clerestory and aisle. A large rose window lights the west end. The chancel ceiling was painted by William Morris and Philip Webb. The altar wall shows Edward Burne-Jones’s Adoration of the Magi. The church is recognised for its early Morris & Co. stained glass and decoration. The Bodley organ case carries paintings by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope. The pulpit panels were painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown and William Morris. During the 1914 German bombardment, the service continued despite damage. The wedding scheduled for that morning took place as planned later the same day. Inside, the rood-screen and reredos date from 1889 by Charles Edgar Buckeridge. The organ installed in 1890 was built by Henry Willis. The church was listed Grade I in 1973. Its setting on the cliff offers views over the town and sea. The interior combines Morris glass, Burne-Jones murals and Bodley’s architecture.