St Martin's is located on the south side of Albany Road, near its junction with Crwys Road and Richmond Road. The first church building on this site was opened in 1886 to accommodate the growing Anglican population in the Parish of Roath. It was a simple structure made of wood and iron but it couldn't accommodate the growing local community. The present building was begun in 1897 in a Gothic and richly decorated Victorian style to designs of F.R.Kempson, and consecrated for worship on the 20 October 1901. Changes of building are reflected on successive editions of the Ordnance Survey 25-inch map of the area, published 1901 and 1920, which portray different ground plans.
During February 1941, the church was bombed and very little of the original building survived intact although the Calvary did and this is preserved on the north wall at the entrance to the Holy Cross Chapel. The present St. Martin's church was built in 1955 by Sir Charles Nicholson & Rushton, of red brick and minimal Bath stone dressings. Its plan comprises nave and chancel in one with a lean-to north chapel. The north aisle is a passage aisle but the south aisle is broad and gabled. Instead of the original rich polychromy, there is a typically pale post-war interior. The new building saw the heavy decorated tracery of the earlier windows replaced with early-English type lancets, giving a more open effect. The Chancel and High Altar area were also lowered considerably at the same time. The interior is dominated by the reredos, a magnificently lettered inscription. There is also stained glass by Hugh Easton dating from 1955 and 1956.
Sources: http://www.stmartininroath.com/Page%202.html; J.Newman, Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan (1995), p.302

David Leighton, RCAHMW, 4 December 2014