St Luke's Church, West Norwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Luke's, West Norwood |
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| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Evangelical |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Francis Octavius Bedford |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | Lambeth South |
| Archdeaconry | Lambeth |
| Diocese | Diocese of Southwark |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Luke's Church in West Norwood is a special Anglican church. It's in a building that's considered very important, called a Grade II* listed building. You can find it on a triangular piece of land at the end of Norwood Road. This is where the road splits into Knights Hill and Norwood High Street.
The Church's Area
When St Luke's Church was first built, the area around it was mostly open fields. There were only a few houses and lots of trees from the Great North Wood. Over time, more and more people moved here.
During the 1800s, new church areas, called parishes, were made. These new parishes took parts of St Luke's original area. This shows how much the local population grew!
Today, the area of St Luke's parish is home to many people. In 2011, about 16,500 people lived there.
The Church Building
St Luke's Church was designed by an architect named Francis Octavius Bedford in 1822. It was built because of a special law passed after the Napoleonic wars. This law helped build new churches as cities grew.
St Luke's is known as a "Commissioners' church". This means it got money from the government to help pay for its construction. The church cost about £12,947 to build, and the government gave £6,447.
It was one of four churches built around the same time. These churches are called "Waterloo churches". They were all named after the four writers of the gospels in the New Testament. Each church was designed to hold many people and cost about the same amount.
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Most churches face east, but St Luke's is different. It faces north and south! This is because of an old rule. No new building could be too close to an existing one without permission. The owner of a nearby pub, the Horn's Tavern, didn't want the church too close. So, the church had to be built facing a different way.
The church's foundation stone was laid on April 14, 1823. It was officially opened on July 25, 1825. The front of the church has a grand stone entrance with six tall columns. A tower rises from the roof behind this entrance.
When it first opened, the church had special seating areas called box pews. It also had balconies and a tall, three-level pulpit. It could seat 1,412 people!
Later, in 1872-73, the inside of the church was changed a lot by G E Street. He made the inside more traditional. The balconies were removed, which meant fewer seats. Over the years, beautiful stained glass windows have also been added.
In 1976, parts of the church were changed to create halls, toilets, and a kitchen. This made the building more useful for community events. In 2005, the old pews were replaced with red chairs. These chairs can be moved around for different activities.
Churchyard
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Many people were buried at St Luke's between 1825 and 1894. Some were in the churchyard, and others were in vaults under the church. Now, no new burials can happen there, except for ashes.
Part of the churchyard was given to the local council after World War II. It became a garden to remember those who died in the war. This area is sometimes used for selling refreshments during local events.
The fancy railings that used to go around the churchyard were taken down during the war. They were put back up in 2009. The large entrance gates from Knights Hill are still missing.
The Church Clock
The clock at St Luke's is very special! It was put in by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy in 1827. It cost £357, which was a lot of money back then.
Vulliamy was a clever clockmaker. He had traveled to other countries to learn new ideas. He used a new way to build the clock's parts at St Luke's. This means St Luke's has the first "flat-bed" turret clock in England.
For some years, the clock didn't work. But in 2017, it was fixed and restored. Now, the clock faces light up, and it winds itself automatically!
See Also
