It was on March 13 1949 that the first service of the West Valley
Mission (as St Martin’s was originally designated) was held in a
mortuary chapel. One of the major figures in the church’s history, the
Reverend James R Murray presided. 
And, one year later, on March 12 1950,
Bishop Gooden officiated at ground-breaking on the present site at 7136
Winnetka Avenue. The first service "on-site" was held in June
in the Chapel building, which had been purchased and moved onto the
grounds.
On November 12 that year, the then 
Rt Reverend F Eric Bloy (later
Bishop Bloy) presided at the dedication of St Martin-in-the-Fields,
named after the famous Church in London, which, according to legend,
Father Murray had visited and thought was an appropriate name for his
parish in the growing, but still green, San Fernando Valley.
By 1954 the adjacent property was acquired, which included a rectory
and some very fragrant hen houses, which were scrubbed and painted for
Sunday School classrooms. Olive trees had been planted in the patio (in
1951) and the first patio Easter service was held in 1954, and Father
Hollis Colwell joined the staff as part-time Associate Priest.
Bishop Gooden came back for the laying of the cornerstone for the new
Church 
on November 20 1955, and the building was sufficiently finished
for Christmas Eve services to be held there only a month later. 300
families sat in folding chairs and sang carols accompanied by a new
organ.
In 1957 the Church became self-supporting and was admitted into union
in the diocese as a parish. Choir stalls were installed, but pews had to
wait, as the Christmas Eve offering was used to pay down on the onion
patch, which became our parking lot. Our Parish Day School also began
that year. In the following years, pews were added, and an 8-room
education building was completed. At this time, Reverend Bertram Bliel
was welcomed as an Associated Priest, and a much needed addition to the
staff.
Between 1960 and 1962 the Parish Hall was completed, with a retired
locomotive bell placed on top. Cottages (formerly hen houses) were
removed and the last major building, a two-story education building
finished. In 1964 Father Kline was ordained a priest of the Church and
celebrated his first communion in March of 1964.
By 1965 the Space Program declined, and, in the unsettled times, many
parishioners left the area, but St Martin’s continued to grow. Father
Bliel left due to ill health. The patio received major attention in
1966; cement was laid, tree wells and flood-lights added, and the lunch
shelter was constructed. Reverend William Wallace joined for a couple of
years. Stained glass windows were added to the sides of the Church in
1968. The altar was redesigned; a new and larger organ was installed and
the Parish Hall refinished. Welcome air conditioning was installed in
1970.
The Church celebrated the burning of the mortgage on the property and
the final payment on the organ in 1971. Father Vaughn, a professional
pianist, led a jazz concert in the Parish Hall to raise funds for the
Fireside Room and it was completed the following year.
To celebrate St Martin’s 25th anniversary, a big
barbeque with music and dancing was held in September 1974, and the
following years were spent on necessary maintenance and repairs- such as
the recarpeting, restaining and upholstering of the main sanctuary in
1976. Father Murray retired that year and was succeeded by Father
Vaughn.
In 1984 Father Vaughn left St Martin’s and the Reverend N Belfield
Hannibal was installed to head the parish. Father James Maronde
succeeded Father Vaughn in 1985 and, in turn, was succeeded by an
interim priest, Father S. Mortimer Ward IV, for one year in 1995.
The Reverend Ronald Douglas Culmer was installed as the new Rector
and Headmaster in March 1997 and left St. Martin's in July of 2004.
St Martin’s 50th Anniversary was celebrated in March of
1999 with a visit from Bishop Talton and an
opening of the original cornerstone. This revealed keepsakes which had
been vaulted away for the past half century, and so additional
appropriate items were added to the cornerstone for the next grand
opening.
In December of that year, Father Hannibal was made a Canon of the Diocese
of Los Angeles and the Parish Hall was renamed Hannibal Hall in his honor.
In 2004 after Father Culmer left Bishop Jon Bruno assigned Father Christopher Eade as Priest-in-Charge at St Martin's. Following election by the Vesty Fr. Eade was installed as Rector in December 2006 with Bishop Talton officiating.
