St Martin's pre-1936

In 1843 Sherwood and Carrington were formed into the parish of St John’s, Carrington, when the church was built there. But the area was still referred to as being part of the parish of Basford until the late 19th century. Not having a nearby strong Anglican influence non conformism began to flourish, especially when Sherwood first became a community in the mid 1820’s.

In 1883 the first Church of England premises were erected on Mansfield Street , Sherwood, not a church of grand design, but a Mission Room of St John's, in the parish of Carrington. The building of the Sherwood Estate after World War 1 increased the parish of Daybrook by some 2,000 souls. Clearly a new church and new parish were needed, but Nottingham Corporation refused permission for a church to be built on the new estate. Not easily thwarted, Colonel F L Seely guaranteed the money for a plot of land on which the Church of the Transfiguration affectionately known as ‘The Tin Tabernacle’, could be built.

It was constructed on Joyce Avenue behind the Cedars on Mansfield Road in 1922, at a cost of almost £1,000. It continued to be known affectionately as the 'Tin Tabernacle' although clearly not made of tin or any other metal. Enough money was also raised to provide a stipend for Mr P S Abraham to serve as Deacon. On August 6th 1922, the Feast of the Transfiguration, a few people met at the site on Joyce Avenue to hold a service proclaiming the presence of the Church in Sherwood. This was the first in the chain of events leading to the establishment of St Martin's. The initiative had been taken by Revd A R Browne-Wilkinson of St Paul's in the parish of Daybrook , which then included the new Sherwood estate.

Rev Edward Lysons took over as priest on 6 th February 1926 and dedicated his time to the ideal of providing a permanent church for Sherwood. In 1927 another temporary church was built on Trevose Gardens, this was later to be used as the church hall. Meantime the 'Tin Tabernacle' continued to be used for Sunday Schools, until it was sold in 1944 to the Nottingham General Hospital to be used as a rehabilitation centre. It was demolished in 1982.

The new temporary church cost £4,500, much of it provided by the Diocesan Church Extension Committee, and was dedicated on November 10th 1927, one day before the Armistice Day services which coincide with St Martin's Day. Services were held there for almost ten years until the new church of St Martin's opened in February 1937, the foundation stone being laid in 1935.