The church of St Martin stood at the northeast corner of St. Martin's Street and St. Martin's Square, the site being marked by a tablet in the wall. It was acquired by the Dean and Chapter of Chichester, who presented in 1557 and held the patronage until the parish was united, and the register books and monuments were removed to the church of St. Olave in 1899.
In 1802–3 the church was found to be in a bad state of repair and was rebuilt at a cost of £1,700. The work, however, appears to have been badly executed, almost wholly with lath and plaster, and the building again fell into disrepair in 1906, when it was pulled down. A paper by Mr. E. E. Street gives some structural details of the church and a list of the monuments. The chief point of interest discovered during its demolition was the finding of a mural painting, probably of the late 13th century, representing a bishop with mitre and crosier and his right hand raised. The bishop may well be St. Richard of Chichester. The church had a chancel, nave and bell tower which were out of repair in 1403. It is described in 1750 as having a small nave, chancel and north aisle, and a spire steeple with two bells. Only one bell (c. 1450) remained when the church was pulled down, and this was given to the old church of Rumboldswyke.
The site of the former church dedicated to St Martin is marked by a plaque on the wall.
A closer view of the plaque.
The former inside of the church is now a garden.
The back of the garden and the wall abutting the neighbouring house are clearly ancient. Indeed imbedded in the wall to the left of the above photo I could clearly make out a gothic window or door - presumably the last tangible remains of this medieval church.
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