53°30′13″N 2°14′4″W / 53.50361°N 2.23444°W / 53.50361; -2.23444

St Luke's Cheetham Hill

St Luke's Church was an Anglican parish church in the Cheetham Hill district of Manchester, England. The structure is now mostly derelict.

The church of St Luke was a Commissioners' church,[1] situated on the corner of Cheetham Hill Road and Smedley Lane. The building was completed in 1839, using ashlar, to a Perpendicular Gothic design by T. W. Atkinson. Construction had commenced in 1836.[2]

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.[3] Mendelssohn gave a recital using this instrument in April 1847.[4]

Although now mostly derelict, the tower and west end of the aisles and vestry survive and are classified as a Grade II listed building.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Parkinson-Bailey, John J. (2000). Manchester: An Architectural History. Manchester University Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-71905-606-2.
  2. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1969). Buildings of England: South Lancashire: The Industrial and Commercial South (Reprinted, revised ed.). Yale University Press. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-30009-615-6.
  3. ↑ Thistlethwaite, Nicholas (1999). The Making of the Victorian Organ. Cambridge University Press. pp. 178, 202, 466. ISBN 978-0-52166-364-9.
  4. ↑ "Dr Mendelssohn's organ recital: 'considerable curiosity and interest were excited'". The Guardian. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Ruins of Church of St Luke". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "The huge creepy abandoned crypt people 'walk past every day'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Church of St Luke Cheetham Hill Manchester - Building". Architects of Greater Manchester. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
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