St Luke's Church, Blakenhall

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

St Luke's Church, Blakenhall
St Luke's Church, Blakenhall
LocationBlakenhall
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipConservative Evangelical
History
StatusActive
DedicationSt Luke
Consecrated18 July 1861
Architecture
Functional statusParish church
Heritage designationGrade II* listed
Architect(s)George Thomas Robinson
Groundbreaking1860
Completed1861
Closed2014
Administration
ParishWolverhampton St Luke
DeaneryWolverhampton
ArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of Walsall
DioceseDiocese of Lichfield
Clergy
Bishop(s)The Rt Revd Rod Thomas (AEO)
Vicar(s)The Revd Richard Espin-Bradley

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]

Pevsner describes the church as furiously unruly.

Present day

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.[5] The congregation are currently worshipping in St Luke's Primary School.

St Luke's Church is within the Conservative Evangelical tradition of the Church of England and it has passed resolutions to reject the ordination of women.[6] It receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Maidstone (currently Rod Thomas).[7]

References
  1. "Church of St Luke, Wolverhampton". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  2. The Buildings of England. Staffordshire. Nikolaus Pevsner. Penguin Books. ISBN 0140710469 p.322
  3. "New Church at Wolverhampton". Staffordshire Advertiser. Stafford. 30 June 1860. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  4. "Blakenhall Church, St Luke's". Staffordshire Advertiser. Stafford. 13 July 1861. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  5. "Legal move to close disused Wolverhampton church as cost of repairs to building tops £1m". Express and Star. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  6. "Christmas 2016 Newsletter" (pdf). bishopofmaidstone.org. December 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  7. "Confirmation at St Luke's Wolverhampton". Bishop of Maidstone. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
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