Description

618/0/10017 ST PETER'S STREET
03-OCT-08 (North side)
CHURCH OF ST LUKE
United Church

GV II

Also Known As: St Luke's United & Moravian Church

Former Moravian chapel, now St Luke's United Church, built 1864 by James Horsford, replacing a previous chapel of 1745. A church hall was added to the east in 1998 and has no historic interest.

MATERIALS
It is built in gault brick, with stone dressings.

PLAN
Square with apse to the north.

EXTERIOR
The façade has three central projecting bays with stone quoins. A large tripartite round-arched window is positioned centrally and flanked by two smaller windows of two lights, all with enlarged keystones to the arched brick heads. A stone string course doubles as a central transom to the windows. Above the string course, stone columns flow into round-headed tracery. Above the windows, there is a pediment with moulded stone dressings on a modillion cornice, which has a central roundel. To each side of the projecting façade is a lower entrance bay probably serving as separate entries for men and women. Timber doors have moulded stone surrounds and large round-headed lights above. On the first floor is a single light with stone columns and leaded light windows which appear original. The roof is obscured from the facade. To the rear is a large apse and on each side elevation the window openings have contrasting brick dressings. The window form matches that on the facade and diamond light denestration in the apse and main body of the church is that of 1885 and 1864 respectively.

INTERIOR.
The apse has a rounded, coffered ceiling and contains the late C19 choir pews and the remains of the C18 organ screen and pipework, altered and restored in the C19 and C20. To the front is the proscenium arch framed by simple pilasters and a projecting cornice. Most of the congregation pews have been replaced by chairs, but some remain on the east and west sides and at the rear. On the east wall are panels in the lower window recesses, donated by GB Lutyens (of the same family as EL Lutyens) to commemorate Rev Hasse becoming Bishop of the Moravian Church in 1904. The panels have painted lettering citing scripture and the ten commandments. The ceiling of the main body of the church is coffered with good quality detailing. To the rear, supported on elegant iron columns, is a gallery approached by stone stairs on either side with iron balustrades. The gallery has a complete set of segregated and ramped pews.

HISTORY
The English branch of the Moravian church was established in 1740 when a chapel was constructed off Fetter Lane in London. A number of Moravian Settlements were established elsewhere in the country, the first in Fulneck in Pudsey from 1744 and a smaller settlement in Bedford from 1745. The Bedford settlement occupies most of the north side of St Peter's Street, east of St Peter's Green. It comprises a former Single Sisters House, Manse and Single Brothers House (later a Moravian school and since 1921 known as the Howard Building of Bedford School) of the mid C18, all grade II listed. A teachers house of c.1830 at 30-32 St Peters Street is also listed in grade II.

A C18 organ originally located in St Paul's church in Bedford was moved to the chapel after its completion. The organ was originally built in 1715 By Gerard Smith, one of whose surviving instruments is the university organ in Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge. The organ at the Moravian church was subsequently altered and restored in the C19 and C20, and although Smith's mechanism has not survived, some of the metal pipes in the main case and the case itself are C18 work.

SOURCES
Podmore, Colin. 'The Moravian Church in England 1728-1760'.
Stell, Christopher. 'Non-conformist Chapels and Meeting Houses in East England' 2002.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
St Luke's United Church in Bedford is listed in grade II for the following principal reasons.
* St Luke's is the key building in the former Moravian Settlement of Bedford and has both architectural and historic significance on its own merit and as an example of the architectural legacy of the Moravian movement.
* It is physically attached to, and has considerable group value with, the other buildings associated with the settlement, all of which are designated in grade II.
* It was designed by James Horsford, a notable local architect with other listed structures to his name.
* It has a well-executed façade which compares favourably with other listed Moravian chapels of a similar date.
* It retains a well-crafted interior, gallery with ramped pews and significant elements of an organ, built in 1715, by the noted organ builder Gerard Smith.

Listing NGR TL0518550114

Reasons for Listing

St Luke's United Church in Bedford is designated at grade II for the following principal reasons.
* St Luke's is the key building in the former Moravian Settlement of Bedford and has both architectural and historic significance in its own merit and as an example of the architectural legacy of the Moravian movement.
* It is physically attached to, and has considerable group value with, the other buildings associated with the settlement, all of which are designated in grade II.
* It was designed by James Horsford, a notable local architect with other listed structures to his name.
* It has a well-executed façade which compares favourably with other listed Moravian chapels of a similar date.
* It has a well-crafted interior and retains a ramped gallery and significant elements of an organ, built in 1715 by the noted organ builder Gerard Smith.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672059

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)