St Luke's Church was an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church in the Cheetham district of Manchester, England. The structure is now mostly derelict and is currently owned by the Heritage Trust for the North West. The Church of St Luke was a Commissioners' church, situated on the corner of

Cheetham Hill Cheetham is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, which in 2011 had a population of 22,562. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north of Manchester city centre, close to the boundary with Salford, bounded by Brou ...

Road and Smedley Lane. The building was completed in 1839, using

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

, to a

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

design by T. W. Atkinson. Construction had commenced in 1836. 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.

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

gave a recital using this instrument in April 1847. Although now mostly derelict, the tower and west end of the aisles and vestry survive and are classified as a Grade II listed building. 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. 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.

References

External links

"Church Of St Luke Cheetham Hill"
Tripadvisor
"Friends of St. Luke's Church, Cheetham Hill"
Facebook
"Ruins of Church of St Luke Listed Building Entry"
Historic England
"St Luke: Cheetham and Cheetham Hill Church Registers"
Manchester City Council *{{cite web , url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/8b00aac1-f2ce-4126-9c6c-1b57c0714551 , publisher=National Archives , title=St Luke's, Cheetham - Records held
"St Luke's Churchyard"
Find a Grave 1839 establishments in England Disestablishments in England Former churches in Greater Manchester Churches completed in 1839 Manchester 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 __FORCETOC__

See also

References

External links