Roman Catholic Church of St. Martin, Salisbury

It was recorded that there were Papists in Salisbury before 1672 but the first Jesuit priest, James Weldon, did not arrive in the city until 1765. He was succeeded in 1767 by James Porter, who was chaplain to Raymond Arundell whose house became a mass centre in Salisbury. By 1780 there was a congregation of 40 to 50 people meeting at the Arundell's house. After 1792 a chapel was created in the attic of Mary Arundell's house in the Square, later St. Thomas's Square, and the congregation increased. They also provided shelter for emigant priests from France.

The Catholic Arundell family of Wardour Castle provided moral and financial backing for Roman Catholic churches in the county for around 150 years. In 1797 the house of Thomas Peniston in The Close was certified for worship with the Abbe Nicholis Begin but the Cathedral Chapter objected. Begin then registered a house in Brown Street. In 1814 this was replaced by St. Martin's Chapel, partly financed by Lord Arundell, in St. Martin's Lane. Begin, who undertook much charitable work among the poor, died in 1826. In 1848 the chapel in St. Martin's Lane was closed when the Roman Catholic Church of St. Osmund was consecrated.