St Martin’s Parish church is Situated at the heart of Basildon New Town and plays an important part in the life of the Community. Through the work of its pastoral Centre, it works with the homeless and the unemployed as well as providing drop-in facilities for advice. In co-operation with Essex County Council and Fiat UK, it runs a dial-a-bus service for the disabled and chronically infirm. The Church was consecrated in 1962 and in the intervening years the building has been enhanced by the addition of one of the finest organs in the east of England. To celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Consecration, the Church Council commissioned Joseph Nuttgens to design and install stained glass windows. The largest such commission to be awarded since Coventry Cathedral.

As a consecration gift the diocese of Chelmsford presented the Church with a ring of 6 historic bells from the redundant Church of St Nicholas Colchester. The history of the bells is well recorded and two of them are the subject of preservation orders. The Tenor Bell was cast in l441 by Joanne Hille the widow of Thomas Hille who cart the Third Bell in 1430. The Tenor is thus the first Bell in the world to have been cart by a woman. It is safe to assume these bells have not been heard for 200 years. All six bells were cast in Aldgate in the East End of London and the two new bells to complete the peal are being cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, thus maintaining the historic link.

The Tower to house this peal of bells is the design of Douglas Galloway RIBA. It will be the only Bell tower in the world which provides ail opportunity to observe the bell ringers performing their art and at the same time viewing the mechanics of the bells being rung. This, together with the music of the bells. gives for the first time ever a complete visual and aural experience of the essentially English art of Change Ringing.

This unique tower is a slender steel structure with frameless glass walls. The tower is free standing and octagonal in plan. which means that the interior will be visible and unobstructed through 360 degrees. It rises to a height of 90 feet, some 25 feet above the height of surrounding buildings. Considerable thought has been given to lighting the tower and a scheme is being developed for the bells and the tower which will ensure that it will become a column of light to be seen all over the town.

The design and construction of the tower will place Basildon on the world stage of architectural innovation and excellence of design. In 1996 the Church Council successfully applied to the Millennium Commission for a grant towards the project. The award of £329,000 is 50% of the total cost of the project and is the first award to be given by the commission to a project in Essex. The Church Council have appointed consulting engineers Buro Happold as their lead consultants.

The decision of the St Martin's Church Council to proceed with the Bell Tower in 1995 provided Basildon District Council with the impetus to revive their plans for the creation of a new town square at the western end of the town centre. This work is being carried out in co-operation with the Commission for the New Town (CNT) and St Martin's Church. The District Council have set aside in excess of £600K for this work The name of the square was decided by a local schools competition and will he named "St Martin Square". The Bell Tower will form the focal point of the square and is surrounded by a Piazza allowing unlimited access to the public The back cloth to the tower will be a new stained glass window 50 feet high designed by Joseph Nuttgens, itself the subject of a grant application to the Arts Council.

The redevelopment of the CNT’s seven acre Fodderwick site will mark the completion of the regeneration of the western end of the town. Together with the District Council they have prepared a joint development brief for a mixed leisure and retail scheme. A short list of prospective developers has been drawn up and the selected scheme will be chosen early in 1997 with an anticipated start date a year later.

The Bell Tower has thus become a symbol of hope to the town. But it is much more than that. Church bells have always played an important part in the social history of our country. They have been rung to celebrate occasions of great national significance. Their silence during times of war and trauma has been a powerful symbol. They have been rung to let communities know that two of its members have created a new family unit through marriage and they have been tolled to remind the community that one of its members have passed away - a real reminder of the importance of just how important each individual is within the life of the community.

The Millennium grant is only half the story. There are exciting possibilities for sponsors to be partners with St Martin's Church Council in creating an important contribution to the architectural cultural and spiritual heritage of our nation.