St Luke's Church, Manchester
53°30′13″N 2°14′4″W / 53.50361°N 2.23444°W
St Luke's Church was an Anglican parish church in the Cheetham Hill district of Manchester, England. The structure is now mostly derelict.
The church of St Luke was a Commissioners' church,[1] situated on the corner of Cheetham Hill Road and Smedley Lane. The building was completed in 1839, using ashlar, to a Perpendicular Gothic design by T. W. Atkinson. Construction had commenced in 1836.[2]
A wealthy local resident and enthusiastic amateur musician, J. W. Fraser, commissioned William Hill to design and install a three-manual church organ in the German System style. This was completed in 1840.[3] Mendelssohn gave a recital using this instrument in April 1847.[4]
Although now mostly derelict, the tower and west end of the aisles and vestry survive and are classified as a Grade II listed building.[5]
In the grounds of the ruined church also lies a large crypt supported by pillars and archways, that still contains remnants of pottery and headstones. Eerie photos of the crypt have appeared online, attracting attention to this historic site.[6]
The church was considered the best early Gothic Revival church in Manchester. The large churchyard was once a fashionable burial site. The church was a stronghold of Protestantism and became notorious when the rector, Hugh Stowell, was accused of libel in 1840.[7]
See also[edit]
- List of churches in Greater Manchester
- List of Commissioners' churches in Northeast and Northwest England
References[edit]
- ^ Parkinson-Bailey, John J. (2000). Manchester: An Architectural History. Manchester University Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-71905-606-2.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1969). Buildings of England: South Lancashire: The Industrial and Commercial South (Reprinted, revised ed.). Yale University Press. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-30009-615-6.
- ^ Thistlethwaite, Nicholas (1999). The Making of the Victorian Organ. Cambridge University Press. pp. 178, 202, 466. ISBN 978-0-52166-364-9.
- ^ "Dr Mendelssohn's organ recital: 'considerable curiosity and interest were excited'". The Guardian. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ "Ruins of Church of St Luke". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ "The huge creepy abandoned crypt people 'walk past every day'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ "Church of St Luke Cheetham Hill Manchester - Building". Architects of Greater Manchester. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
External links[edit]
- "St Luke's, Cheetham - Records held". National Archives.
- "St Luke's Churchyard Listing". Google Maps
- 1839 establishments in England
- Disestablishments in England
- Former churches in Greater Manchester
- Churches completed in 1839
- Church of England church buildings in Greater Manchester
- Anglican Diocese of Manchester
- 19th-century Church of England church buildings
- Gothic Revival church buildings in England
- Gothic Revival architecture in Greater Manchester
- Commissioners' church buildings
- Grade II listed buildings in Manchester