Church of St Luke

Details

392/56/149 BERRY STREET 28-JUN-1952 CHURCH OF ST LUKE (Formerly listed as: BERRY STREET CHURCH OF ST LUKE WITH RAILINGS AND PIERS SURROUNDING CHURCH) GV II*

Former Anglican church, approach steps and raised flagged forecourt, now deconsecrated shell. 1811-32. By John Foster, architect of Liverpool, for the Corporation of Liverpool, the design amended and the work completed by John Foster junior. Minor amendments 1864-73 by William and John Audsley of Liverpool, damaged by bombing May 1941. Ashlar sandstone. Perpendicular Gothic style. PLAN: Nave, chancel, and west tower with 3-sided front approach to Berry Street, stepped on a sloping site and terminating at a spacious flagged forecourt. EXTERIOR: Tower has west entrance of 4 orders with ogival hood mould with poppyhead. Flanking porches with 2-light windows, and entrances to north and south. Polygonal buttresses at angles of tower which is of 3 storeys. 2nd stage has 3-light windows and traceried frieze above with clocks to all sides. 3rd stage has 4-light windows and ogival hood moulds; traceried panelling to spandrels and buttresses. Battlemented parapet and 4 flat- topped pinnacles. Nave of 5 bays with windows of 3 lights between panelled buttresses ending in crocketed pinnacles above the battlemented parapet. Chancel of 4 bays and apsidal end. Flanking porches at west end. Windows of 3- lights between panelled buttresses with crocketed pinnacles, panelling above windows. East window of 5 lights. Panelled octagonal finials with flat tops. INTERIOR: The church was severely damaged and its interior destroyed during an air raid in 1941. Internal finishes remain as exposed brick and stone. Brick 4-centred chancel arch. The church retains its bell frame in the tower. Thought to be the first cast-iron bell frame to be made, it is inscribed ' GEORGE GILLEBRAND BELL HANGER 1828'

HISTORY: St Luke's Church was built on a site purchased by the Corporation of Liverpool in 1791, and was planned to serve the new suburbs being developed for the prosperous on the Corporation' Estate. After the commencement of works in 1805, the brief was changed to allow the new building to provide the functions of ceremonial place of worship for the Corporation and fee paying concert hall. The provision of an unusually spacious chancel is thought to have been based on the need the to provide a segregated area of worship for Members of the Corporation. The concert hall function was maintained until the erection of the Philharmonic Hall in Hope Street in the mid-C19. Forms a group with railings, plinth walls, gates, piers and steps surrounding the Church of St. Luke (q.v.)

St. Luke's Church together with the surrounding enclosure walling, railings, steps, piers and gates (q.v.) which define its setting were designed to serve as the church of the Corporation of Liverpool by John Foster of Liverpool and later by his son John Foster junior. Despite severe damage during World War II, the church and its railed enclosure remain an outstandingly rich example of early C19 ecclesiastical Perpendicular Gothic architecture, and an architectural, historical and historic townscape ensemble of monumental significance at the heart of the city of Liverpool.

Listing NGR: SJ3526889870

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

213761

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.