Darlington: St Luke
Overview
Grid reference: NZ 285 152
The church is built in the Early English style. Only the nave with its aisles was built, and there is a corner covered with scruffy rendering at the north-west angle which shows where the tower should have been; the east wall is also rendered because the chancel was never built. In its place there is a small gabled sanctuary springing from a pent roof against the wall filling the chancel arch, the east window being five graded lancets within an arch.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Only the nave was built, of four bays with aisles and clerestory; at the west is a small polygonal apse for the baptistery and at the east a later temporary chancel which seems to have become permanent. A tower was to have stood at the north-west corner and the south porch was added later.
Description of Archaeology and History
The foundation stone was laid on 25th March 1914 and the church was consecrated on 14 February 1917. The south porch was added as a Coronation memorial in 1937. The architect of the church was William Jobson Moscrop and a drawing of the original scheme signed by Clark and Moscrop of Darlington hangs in the church. The parish was the birthplace of rail travel, and the church was built to commemorate "that great epoch". Through the help of F.A. Bevan, Chairman of Barclay's Bank, an appeal was made, and three quarters of the total subscriptions were given by 12,000 shareholders of the North Eastern Railway Company.
Exterior Description
The church is built in the Early English style. Only the nave with its aisles was built, and there is a corner covered with scruffy rendering at the north-west angle which shows where the tower should have been; the east wall is also rendered because the chancel was never built. In its place there is a small gabled sanctuary springing from a pent roof against the wall filling the chancel arch, the east window being five graded lancets within an arch.
The west end is flanked by buttresses terminatingin gablets at eaves level and between them at the foot of the wall, is a shallow projecting apse with canted corners forming the baptistery, its walls pierced with three small rectangular lights. Just below a stringcourse which runs below the windows is the inscription RAILWAY PIONEERS MEMORIAL CHURCH in gothic lettering. The west windows are a large central opening with Y tracery flanked by two large plain lancets. The south aisle has a west window with Y tracery, a basic design which is repeated twice in each bay of the clerestory. In their north and south walls the aisles have paired lancets to each bay, the bays being marked by small buttresses. The south porch added in 1937 has an outer doorway with a double chamfered arch and a tiny recess into which a statue of St. Luke is squeezed above.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
c.1917
Two lights in the west window depicting Four Scenes from the Life of Christ.
Interior
Interior Description
The interior has plastered walls with exposed stone dressings, the double chamfered arches of the arcades being carried on cylindrical piers with moulded bases and capitals. At the west a shallow segmental arch of stone opens into the small baptistery and at the east end the chancel arch opens into the small sanctuary. The eastern bay of the nave is therefore taken up with the choirstalls and the organ is placed in the east bay of the south aisle. The chancel arch is tall, with attached semi circular responds with moulded bases and capitals, and the upperpart is filled with a temporary wall pierced by a quetrefoil light. The roof of the nave is a panelled timber barrel vault with moulded ribs at each bay carried on shafts supported by conical corbels in the spandrels of the of the arcades. The only stained glass apart from three small lights in the baptistery is in the centre window of the west wall. Of the chancel there is nothing to record save that the gablet over the east window breaks through the pent roof in an awkward fashion internally.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
The altar is of oak, with three painted panels on the front depicting The Nativity, by a local artist.
Reredos
The reredos is of oak and also decorated with painted panels, five in number, depicting The Last Supper.
Pulpit
1881
The pulpit is of oak, in a derivative Perpendicular style, half an octagon in plan and with blind tracery. The church inventory dates it at 1881 and it presumably came from the parish church of St. Cuthbert since it commemorates The Revd. Francis W. Mortimer, Vicar of Darlington for eleven years and Rural Dean.
Lectern
1915
Brass eagle.
Font (object)
1918
The font dates from 1918, with an octagonal stone bowl on a cluster of eight colonettes round a central drum. The cover has an ogee wooden superstructure.
Organ (object)
The organ is a two-manual instrument with tracker action by Nicholson and Lord of Walsall.
Churchyard
Grid reference: NZ 285 152
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
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