St Luke's Church, Chelsea Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St Luke's Church, Chelsea

Location	Sydney Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 6NH
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Modern Catholic
History
Status	Active
Architecture
Functional status	Parish church
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Architect(s)	James Savage
Completed	1824
Administration
Parish	Chelsea St Luke and Christ Church
Deanery	Chelsea
Archdeaconry	Archdeaconry of Middlesex
Diocese	Diocese of London

The Parish Church of St Luke, Chelsea, is an Anglican church located on Sydney Street in Chelsea, just off the King's Road. It's part of the Diocese of London. This church was designed by James Savage in 1819. It's very important in architecture because it was one of the first churches in London built in the Gothic Revival style. It might even be the very first new building in this style.

St Luke's was one of the first "Commissioners' churches." These churches received money from the government to help build them. St Luke's got a grant of £8,333. This money came from a special law passed by Parliament in 1818 to help build more churches. The church is officially recognized as a Grade I listed building, which means it's a very important historical building. Even the gardens around St Luke's are special, listed as Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Building a New Church in Chelsea
Amazing Architecture
People Connected to St Luke's
Gallery
St Luke's in Film and TV
See also

Building a New Church in Chelsea

Cale Street on an old map from the 1800s

In the early 1800s, Chelsea was growing from a small village into a busy part of London. St Luke's was built to replace the old parish church, which is now called Chelsea Old Church. The new church was meant to be more central for the growing community.

The idea for the new church came from the rector of Chelsea, Gerald Wellesley. He was the brother of the famous 1st Duke of Wellington. Wellesley was in charge from 1805 to 1832 and saw the church officially opened in 1824.

In 1819, James Savage's plans for the church were chosen from over forty different designs. He wanted the church to look like the grand Gothic churches built in the 1300s and 1400s.

Amazing Architecture

St Luke's Church is built from Bath stone. It has a stone ceiling that looks like a series of arches, called a vault. This vault is supported from the outside by flying buttresses, which are special arched supports. One expert, Charles Locke Eastlake, said it was "probably the only church of its time" with a stone roof like this.

Another expert, Sir John Summerson, noticed that St Luke's looks similar to famous buildings like Bath Abbey and King's College Chapel, Cambridge. These buildings are known for their "Perpendicular style" of Gothic architecture. Savage had wanted to build an open spire on the tower, but this was not allowed.

The church was a very ambitious project, costing £40,000 to build. It was designed to hold 2,500 people. This made it one of the most expensive "Commissioners' churches" ever built.

The large organ in the church was first built by W. A. A. Nicholls. It was later rebuilt in 1932, but it still uses the original case and many of the old pipes.

The inside of the church was originally set up for preaching, with a big pulpit and a small altar. The layout was changed in the 1860s, but the galleries (balconies) above the aisles remained. The church also has a large painting called Deposition of Christ by James Northcote.

People Connected to St Luke's

Many interesting people have connections to St Luke's Church.

Charles Dickens, the famous writer, got married here on April 2, 1836. This was just two days after his first big success, Pickwick Papers, was published.
Robert Baden-Powell, who started the Scouting movement, had his parents marry here in 1846.
The architect of the church, James Savage, is buried in the churchyard.
Two famous actors from the 1800s, William Blanchard and Daniel Egerton, are also buried in the churchyard.

The church has also had many talented musicians as organists and choirmasters. Some of them went on to work at cathedrals. Two of these organists were composers who wrote famous hymns:

Sir John Goss wrote "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" and the carol "See, Amid the Winter Snow".
John Ireland was another well-known composer.

St Luke's also has special memorial chapels for two military groups: the Punjab Frontier Force and the 3rd Gurkha Rifles. These chapels have beautiful glass panels with regimental badges.