St Luke's Kentish Town is an active

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

on Oseney Crescent in Kentish Town, North London, closed from 1991 to 2011 and now hosting a

Holy Trinity Brompton Holy Trinity Brompton with St Paul's Onslow Square and St Augustine's South Kensington, often referred to simply as HTB, is an Anglican church in London, England. The church consists of six sites: HTB Brompton Road, HTB Onslow Square (''formerly ...

church plant. The church has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The church was built between 1867 and 1869 using £12,500 compensation provided by the railway company for the demolition of St Luke's Church, Euston Road, along with money from the sale of the church building on the Euston Road. John Johnson had built the church on Euston Road and hoped to be commissioned to design the new church in Kentish Town. However, he was disappointed when he was in fact passed over in favour of the 25-year-old

Basil Champneys Basil Champneys (17 September 1842 – 5 April 1935) was an English architect and author whose most notable buildings include Manchester's John Rylands Library, Somerville College Library (Oxford), Newnham College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret Ha ...

. It was his first church and one of his first buildings. His father, William Weldon Champneys, who commissioned the church, was the vicar of the parish of St Pancras. The original construction phase included the three east

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows designed by

Henry Holiday Henry Holiday (17 June 183915 April 1927) was an English Victorian painter of historical genre and landscapes, also a stained-glass designer, illustrator, and sculptor. He was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, many of whom he knew. ...

and made by

Heaton, Butler and Bayne Heaton, Butler and Bayne was a British firm that produced stained-glass windows from 1862 to 1953. History Clement Heaton (1824–1882) Fleming, John & Hugh Honour. (1977) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. '' London: Allen Lane, p. 371 ...

. The same company produced the c. 1880-1890 aisle windows of the twelve apostles and the 1891 west window, whilst a

Willis Willis may refer to: Places United States * Willis, Florida, an unincorporated community * Willis, Kansas, a city * Willis, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Willis, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Willis, Oklahoma, an unincorporat ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

was installed in 1893. Morris & Co. produced four more stained glass windows for the south

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

in 1910 - two are taken from figures by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

and two by

John Henry Dearle John Henry Dearle (22 August 1859 – 15 January 1932) was a British textile and stained-glass designer trained by the artist and craftsman William Morris who was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Dearle designed many of t ...

. A

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

added in the 1930s and in 1955 the benefice was merged with that of St Paul's Camden Square, an arrangement that lasted until 1987. St Luke's present brass

eagle lectern An eagle lectern is a lectern in the shape of an eagle on whose outstretched wings the Bible or other texts rest. They are common in Christian churches and may be in stone, wood or metal, usually brass. History Eagle lecterns in stone were a ...

dates to 1882 and originally came from St Paul's, which had been war-damaged. The building closed in 1991 and was handed over to the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

Present day

In 2011, the church re-opened via a pastoral measure naming the Revd Jonathan March as the new parish priest. Renovation work by HTB was completed in January 2012 and services have recommenced as of 29 January 2012.

Architecture

Exterior

The exterior of the church is largely red brick with stone dressings, and the roof is

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

d. The tower with its saddleback

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof is in the

North German Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

style, with three arcaded openings to the

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

and

plate tracery Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...

above. The detail of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s is Early English revival. The nave has four bays with narrow aisles. The chancel is situated beneath the tower. It has a polygonal

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

with plate tracery. The west end has three

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s, with a plate tracery

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

above. The aisles and

have pointed windows in pairs.

Interior

The walls are of exposed red brick with two bands of stone. The nave arcades have low cylindrical pillars. Between the arches are shafts which support the principal roof timbers. The floor is paved with red and black tiles. From the crossing, there are three steps up to the brick-vaulted chancel and a further six steps up to the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

, which has decorative tiles and

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, typically made of stone, located on the liturgical south side of the altar—often within the chancel—intended for use by the officiating priest, deacon, an ...

Stance on LGBT people

A woman has said she was forced out of a church congregation after coming out as a lesbian. The woman's case left her needing three years of counselling. An investigation into St Luke's Church in Oseney Crescent and its vicar has since taken place. She had been a regular at the church – part of the Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) network – but was frozen out after coming out to Reverend Jon March in 2019. Fr Robert Thompson supported the woman. Thompson said that the requirement for celibacy did not apply to lay people – people who are not ordained – and only to clergy. The woman shared about how the experience resulted in

Post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

. The Diocese of London, who led the investigation into St Luke's, said it was providing ongoing support to the woman and took the complaint seriously. In a new statement, a spokeswoman defended Rev March and said he had been “open and helpful throughout the process”, adding: “He continues to work closely with the Bishop of Edmonton on a positive way forward for the parish.” The woman's complaints about how her situation was subsequently handled by Mr March and his church form the basis of an informal investigation conducted by the Ven. Rosemary Lain-Priestley, who is an adviser to the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally. Archdeacon Lain-Priestley was given the task of responding to a brief sent by the Bishop of Edmonton, the Rt Revd Rob Wickham, in April 2020, on the extent to which Mr March conformed to or breached the guidelines for professional clergy conduct when responding to the woman about her sexuality and leadership. An inquiry found that St Luke's had been negligent in its treatment of the woman. The report found that Rev March's idea of “beyond reproach” may have excluded the woman from her position, and admitted pastoral failings, but cleared him of abuse of power. The inquiry quoted Mr March as saying: “It is by far one of my biggest regrets. It was lacking. It was thought about but we came to the wrong side of a wrong decision, a bad call.” Among the recommendations from the report are St Luke's putting together a policy on sex and relationships, but stops short of saying it should be published. It said that Mr March would benefit from, and has agreed to, training in handling “difficult conversations” on conflict on this or similar issues. Some of the measures have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and others, including a risk assessment for LGBT+ and vulnerable people, have not been carried out.

Gallery

File:St Luke Chancel, Kentish Town London 181211.JPG, Vaulting of the chancel, featuring the Christmas opening service lighting, 18th Dec 2011 File:St Luke Nave Kentish Town London 1 240112.JPG, Facing east in the nave; the font in the foreground File:St Luke Nave, Kentish Town London 2 240112.JPG, Facing west in the nave

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Lukes Church Kentish Town

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Churches completed in 1869 Gothic Revival church buildings in London 19th-century Church of England church buildings Kentish Town 1869 establishments in England Holy Trinity Brompton plants