St Luke's Church, Blakenhall Explained

St Luke's Church, Blakenhall
Coordinates:52.5723°N -2.1298°W
Location:Blakenhall
Country:England
Denomination:None
Previous Denomination:Church of England
Churchmanship:Conservative Evangelical
Dedication:St Luke
Consecrated Date:18 July 1861
Status:Deconsecrated
Functional Status:Parish church
Heritage Designation:Grade II* listed
Architect:George Thomas Robinson
Groundbreaking:1860
Completed Date:1861
Closed Date:2017
Parish:Wolverhampton St Luke
Deanery:Wolverhampton
Archdeaconry:Archdeaconry of Walsall
Diocese:Diocese of Lichfield
Bishop:The Rt Revd Rod Thomas (AEO)
Vicar:The Revd Richard Espin-Bradley

St Luke's Church, Blakenhall is a Grade II* listed[1] former parish church in the Church of England in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton.[2]

History

The foundation stone was laid on 26 June 1860 by Revd. W. Dalton, vicar of St Philip's Church, Penn.[3] It was designed by the architect G. T. Robinson of Leamington Spa, and was consecrated by the Bishop of Lichfield on 18 July 1861.[4] A set of eight bells were installed in 1897 by James Barwell of Birmingham,[5] and are the last complete ring of bells to be cast by that founder.[6]

Pevsner describes the church as furiously unruly.

Present use

In 2014 it was announced that parts of the tower and spire were unsafe and the roof and floor had dry rot. The Diocese of Lichfield was seeking formal closure of the church as the congregation was unable to raise funding to match that offered by English Heritage to repair the church.[7] In 2016 a petition to save the building from demolition gained over 1,500 signatures.[8] [9] The church closed in 2017, and while several groups were interested in purchasing it, including a Sikh congregation, the building is now used as an antiques shop.[10] [11] [12] The former congregation now meets in St. Luke's School a short distance away.[13]

Also within the parish is a tin tabernacle on Pond Lane, used as a Mission hall.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Church of St Luke, Wolverhampton . . British Listed Buildings . 29 March 2015.
  2. The Buildings of England. Staffordshire. Nikolaus Pevsner. Penguin Books. p.322
  3. News: . New Church at Wolverhampton . Staffordshire Advertiser . Stafford . 30 June 1860 . 29 March 2015 .
  4. News: . Blakenhall Church, St Luke's . Staffordshire Advertiser . Stafford . 13 July 1861 . 29 March 2015 .
  5. Web site: Tower details . 2022-12-03 . dove.cccbr.org.uk.
  6. Web site: Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers . 2022-12-03 . dove.cccbr.org.uk.
  7. News: . Legal move to close disused Wolverhampton church as cost of repairs to building tops £1m . Express and Star . 27 January 2014 . 29 March 2015 .
  8. Web site: We will not let church where Wolves were first formed be bulldozed, clergywoman vows . 2022-12-03 . www.expressandstar.com . 18 March 2016 . en.
  9. Web site: Save St Lukes, Blakenhall, Wolverhampton 38 Degrees . 2022-12-03 . you.38degrees.org.uk . en-GB.
  10. Web site: St Luke, Blakenhall - Wolverhampton, City of Historic England . 2022-12-03 . historicengland.org.uk . en.
  11. Web site: Sikh group's plans for Wolves church to become community centre . 2022-12-03 . www.expressandstar.com . 4 February 2017 . en.
  12. Web site: Bagdi . Annabal . Wolverhampton church saved from demolition set to open as antiques emporium . 2022-12-03 . www.expressandstar.com . 16 June 2018 . en.
  13. Web site: Sunday . 2022-12-03 . St Luke's Church Wolverhampton . en-GB.
  14. Web site: Pond Lane Mission Hall . 2022-12-03 . www.achurchnearyou.com . en.

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