Church of St Luke, Derby :: Shared Description
For a church which is Listed Grade II*, the Listing description is remarkably uninformative, being simply:
“Late C19. Early English Gothic style. Stone. Nave, chancel with polygonal apse and aisles. South-west lever. Undergoing restoration 1974/5. “
(”lever” is a mis-transcription for “tower”!)
The church was erected between 1868 and 1871 to designs by local architects Henry Isaac Stevens and Frederick Josias Robinson. Although essentially Gothic in concept, it does not seek to mimic medieval styles. It was built as part of the High Church movement and retains this style of worship to the present day.
The church comprises a wide nave with narrow aisles and apsidal chancel, the latter slightly raised over a crypt. A tall tower over a south porch is capped with a saddleback roof with ornately decorated gable faces.
Around the tower at the corners at the base of the bell chamber are four groups of 3 statues, possibly representing the 12 apostles. A pair of larger statues representing bishops stand in niches on the south face of the tower. These could represent the then current Bishop of Lichfield, George Selwyn, who consecrated the church, and his predecessor John Lonsdale (d.1867) who would have been responsible for commissioning the church and is memorialised on the arch of the north door.
The west doorway comprises two lancet doorways within a large arch of three orders, the inner of which frames the two doors creating a large tympanum in which there is a fine circular sculpted panel of the Ascension.
According to the diocesan web page for the church, the tower contains the heaviest ring of 8 bells in Derbyshire, and is the 13th heaviest ring of 8 bells in the world. The Tenor bell weighs 30cwt 3qtr 2lbs.
“Late C19. Early English Gothic style. Stone. Nave, chancel with polygonal apse and aisles. South-west lever. Undergoing restoration 1974/5. “
(”lever” is a mis-transcription for “tower”!)
The church was erected between 1868 and 1871 to designs by local architects Henry Isaac Stevens and Frederick Josias Robinson. Although essentially Gothic in concept, it does not seek to mimic medieval styles. It was built as part of the High Church movement and retains this style of worship to the present day.
The church comprises a wide nave with narrow aisles and apsidal chancel, the latter slightly raised over a crypt. A tall tower over a south porch is capped with a saddleback roof with ornately decorated gable faces.
Around the tower at the corners at the base of the bell chamber are four groups of 3 statues, possibly representing the 12 apostles. A pair of larger statues representing bishops stand in niches on the south face of the tower. These could represent the then current Bishop of Lichfield, George Selwyn, who consecrated the church, and his predecessor John Lonsdale (d.1867) who would have been responsible for commissioning the church and is memorialised on the arch of the north door.
The west doorway comprises two lancet doorways within a large arch of three orders, the inner of which frames the two doors creating a large tympanum in which there is a fine circular sculpted panel of the Ascension.
According to the diocesan web page for the church, the tower contains the heaviest ring of 8 bells in Derbyshire, and is the 13th heaviest ring of 8 bells in the world. The Tenor bell weighs 30cwt 3qtr 2lbs.
More nearby...
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By Alan Murray-Rust. Used on 7 images
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By Dave Bevis. Used on 9 images
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By Dave Bevis. Used on 10 images
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By Dave Bevis. Used on 7 images
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Created: Mon, 25 Feb 2019, Updated: Wed, 27 Feb 2019
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