Church of St Luke, Pinner

Introduction

The Roman Catholic church of St Luke, Pinner, was built to designs by F X Velarde in 1957-58.

History

In 1915 the foundation stone for a new church, designed by Percy Lamb, was laid in Love Lane. During the First World War some Belgian refugees sought shelter in Pinner and joined the congregation of St Luke’s. After the war those who had sought refuge in Pinner arranged for a bell to be brought from Belgium and installed in the original church, which was moved into the north tower of the new church.

The church was the first of four churches by the Velarde practice in the diocese. The contractors were Messrs William Lacey (Hounslow) Ltd, and building costs were in the region of £50,000. In 1986 the old church was adapted by Keystone architects to serve as a parish centre. In 2005 plans were prepared by Anthony Delarue Associates for a grand entrance portico/colonnade at the west front, incorporating ramped access, but this was not implemented. The church is a Grade II listed building, in recognition of being a good example of the post-war work of F X Velarde.

Architecture and furnishings

The exterior is of pale brown brick laid in English garden wall bond and with roof coverings of copper. The plan comprises a nave and sanctuary under a continuous pitched roof with twin west towers and low flat-roofed aisles with chapels, sacristies etc giving off. The nave has walls of painted brick, and a flat timber ceiling consisting of a gold-painted framework of square panels, painted alternate shades of blue and with an alternating pattern of squares and diamonds. The six-bay nave has arcades of unmoulded round arches with incised decorative capitals in a stripped-back Romanesque style, carried on concrete columns faced with gold mosaic.

The large sculpture on the west front of Our Lady sitting for St Luke, the artist, was by a newcomer, the 27-year-old David John. A sample Station of the Cross was commissioned, and is retained in a first floor room in the Parish Hall, but the full set were never completed due to cost constraints. Figurative Stations replaced the original small plain Stations in 1976. In 1965 a new parish hall was built behind Velarde’s church, to a modern design by G H and G P Grima. The original baptismal font, relocated from the existing Lady Chapel at the north-west, comprising a solid oak bowl with a brass cover, on a metal base.

Music and liturgy

The choir's repertoire includes works by Victoria, Elgar, and Wesley. Liturgical music at St Luke's includes a rich organ repertoire with works by Bach, Widor, Mendelssohn, and many others matched to the liturgical season. The organ gallery is located above the Holy Family side chapel on the south side of the sanctuary.

Parish life

The parish has a justice and peace contact. The parish has a pastoral assistant for catechetics and a pastoral outreach worker.

The parish has a large and lively presence of youth groups such as the 3rd Pinner (Saint Luke’s) Scout group comprising Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, and Brownies. The parish has an active catechetical programme preparing children and young people for the sacraments of Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

The parish has a pre-Baptism course arranged with the Parish Catechist. The parish has coffee and tea in the Parish Centre after Mass on Friday, courtesy of the Pinner Association of Churches, and after each of the Sunday Masses.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Children in Year 2 at a non-Catholic school must join the pre-Communion programme for a year before their First Communion course, making it a two-year preparation. A minimum of six months' notice of a proposed marriage is required by the Church. The parish's pastoral outreach team, together with the parish priest, provides pastoral care to elderly, sick and housebound parishioners, with visiting times arranged between volunteer and parishioner.