Cheltenham, St Luke: Anglican Parish

Incumbent, Churchwardens and PCC, Vestry and PCC, Special Committees, Schools, Miscellaneous (including parish magazines)

THESE DOCUMENTS ARE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH EXCEPT FILE P78 IN 4/14 WHICH IS CLOSED UNTIL 31 YEARS OLD

Accession 6134.1, files P78/7IN 1/1-20, P78/7 VE 2/1 and P78/7 SC 1/1, was deposited by the vicar and PCC of Cheltenham St Luke and St John, 8 March 1990 and accession 9045, files P78/7 IN 1/21-27, 2/1-2, 3/1-5, 4/1-24, P78/7 CW 2/1-15, 3/1-37, P78/7 VE 2/2-8, 3/1-6, P78/7 SP 1/1, 2/1, P78/7 SC 1/2-6 and P78/7 MI 1/1-33, 2/1-5, 3/1-5, was deposited by the vicar and PCC of Cheltenham St Luke and St John, 19 November 2001

St Luke's church was built partly as a place of worship for the pupils at the nearby Gentlemen's College, who were to use 400 of its original 1100 seats, and partly to serve residents in the fashionable Sandford area of Cheltenham. It was consecrated on 7 November 1854 and the ecclesiastical parish of St Luke was formed in 1855. In 1922 the parish was split in two to form Emmanuel parish and during the next two decades St Luke's went through difficult times with small congregations. In 1939 a commission recommended the amalgamation of St Luke's and St John's parish and the closure and possible demolition of St Luke's church. However, the Second World War prevented any action from being taken. Following the War the possible union of St Luke's and St John's parishes was considered twice more, by a commission in 1947 and by the pastoral re-organisation committee in 1953, with St Luke's Parochial Church Council vigorously opposing the suggestion on both occasions. In 1958 the vicar of St Luke's resigned the living. Following a meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Committee a decision was taken to allow St Luke's to remain a separate parish, initially on probation. In 1964, prompted by vacancies at both St John's and St James' churches and the publication of Cheltenham Borough Council's draft proposals for the town centre, the Bishop appointed a commission to look into the future of the two parishes. It was decided to combine St Luke's and St John's parishes (1966) and to close and then demolish St John's church (1967). The incumbent of St Luke's made efforts to find buyers for the pews, stained glass and other parts of St John's church. Memorials and certain church furniture from St John's church were removed to St Luke's church and preserved there. (This account is a summary of a document headed "St Luke's Church Cheltenham: The Bishop's Commission" dated 1964, to be found in P78/7 IN4/16)