Parish Church of St. Martin

The parish church of St. Martin dates back to a place of worship that was founded in the 12th century and replaced an older place of worship. Over the centuries, the church was enlarged and adapted. The restoration in the 19th century gave the church a dominant neo-Romanesque character. To the south of the church, in the cemetery, is the imposing burial chapel of Monsignor Lambrecht.

Orientated parish church in the middle of a semi-detached oval cemetery in a bend of the street between numbers 69-71 and number 73 / Mandenmakersstraat. Formerly walled cemetery, now only with wrought iron fence on a brick base, at the level of Mgr. Lambrechtstraat with entrance gate on heavy square brick fence pillars with ball crowning opposite the west portal of the church.
The floor plan now reveals a three-aisled nave of five bays, straight closed projecting transept arms, square bell tower above the crossing with the flat closed choir in the extension. Masonry of irregularly cut Tournai stone for the nave and the stair turret added to the south transept, with the use of bluestone for, among other things: corner chains, gable ears and corbels, frame of round-arched portal and the predominantly small round-arched windows. Slate roofing. Transept arms predominantly of brick with scarce processing of sandstone. South transept arm from the 15th to 16th century (?) with angled buttresses and two-part tracered wide pointed arch light in the south façade. North transept arm from the 16th or 15th century with tripartite tracery pointed arch window; Gable recently cemented and provided with imitation brick painting. Brick choir extension with bluestone two-lights with dividing column as above the west portal. Choir facades partly covered with slates. Rather heavy turret consisting of square timbered bell chamber covered with slates and surmounted by a constricted eight-sided slate spire with four dials under wooden canopies. Very sober brick sacristy and storage room.
Central aisle with low round-arched arches resting on rather squat rectangular pillars with corner chamfers. Apparently original high round arch between nave and crossing; pointed arched arches between crossing and transept arms. Nave and choir with barrel-shaped wooden vaulting. Plastered stone cross rib vault of south transept on corbels.
Mobile: Polychrome wooden statue of Saint Martin bishop from the 18th century; neo-Gothic main and two side altars made of wood and stone; two neo-Gothic oak choir stalls; in three separate pieces in the choir scattered neo-Gothic oak communion rail; two neo-Gothic oak confessionals; baptismal font (iron and copper) from the 17th to 18th century; Stations of the Cross made of polychrome plaster by Aloïs De Beule from the first half of the 20th century. Neo-Gothic stained-glass window choir with 3 female saints, referring to the sisters of Monsignor Lambrecht, presumably donors, dated right under 1899 (?) and from the Osterrath workshop.

Source: https://inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be/erfgoedobjecten/27802

Rudy Wuyts