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History
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St Luke's Church, West Norwood
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The Church Building
This is a Grade II Listed building, which was designed by Francis Octavius Bedford and took over two years to construct. The builder was Mrs Elizabeth Broomfield of Walworth and the foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 14 April 1823. The Bishop of Winchester dedicated the church on 15 July 1825. It occupies a prominent site at the south end of Norwood Road, where the highway forks to become Knights Hill and Norwood High Street. The outside of the edifice closely resembles two other churches that were designed by the same architect
Originally, the building was endowed with box pews, galleries and a triple-decker pulpit, providing seating for a total of 1,807 worshippers within an enormous rectangle. In 1871-2 the premises were extensively remodeled to plans by G E Street, who divided the interior into a nave and aisles by arcades of an Italian Romanesque style. The galleries were removed, so the amount of seating was substantially reduced. Over the years, various stained glass windows have also been added. Further changes from 1976 onwards have converted the chancel into halls, toilets and a kitchen. The pews have recently been replaced by chairs, which are arranged to focus on the worship leaders and preacher and allow more flexible use of the main auditorium. The Locality When St Luke's church was built, the surrounding area was almost entirely rural. Some new roads (such as those now known as Norwood High Street, Chapel Road and Gipsy Road) had been laid out when Lambeth Manor was enclosed in 1806. However, by the time the church was completed, development was limited to buildings along some of main roads, being a mixture of modest cottages and villas for the more wealthy inhabitants. The Horns Tavern (not the present building) was the only hostelry nearby. The only significant public buildings were the Independent (later Congregationalist) chapel in Chapel Road, which was completed in 1821 and a House of Industry for the Infant Poor on roughly the site now occupied by the Woodvale Estate. This was a workhouse for pauper children drawn from the whole of the original parish of Lambeth. Its presence may partly explain the exceptionally large proportion of infants and children to be found amongst those buried at St Luke's. Although some housing development took place during the first half of the 19th century, including cottages along much of the length of the High Street, it was only after the railway arrived that the population of the area expanded rapidly. Lower Norwood station was opened in 1856, an event followed by an outburst of housing development that continued for many decades afterwards. In 1886, the station was renamed as West Norwood, apparently because this was thought more prestigious than the original name. The surrounding area has been known as such ever since. By the First World War, much of the parish was developed. However, some fields remained to succumb to suburban housing during the 1920s and 1930s. Wartime bombing was not as heavy as in many other parts of London, but did result in a scattering of destruction. Since the Second World War, housing development in the area has largely involved the demolition of older housing and its replacement, usually at considerably higher densities. Meanwhile, much of the historic centre lying between Knights Hill, Chapel Road and the railway line has been cleared for industry. As West Norwood is some six miles from the centre of London, it shares in the benefits and the challenges of metropolitan life. Local residents are now drawn from all over the world, with a substantial proportion of the local population moving home during the course of each year. Registers Microfilms of non-current parish registers can be consulted at the London Metropolitan Archives and at Lambeth Archives. These archives should be able to tell you which periods are currently covered by the records they hold. Burials Click here to see details of everyone who has been buried at St Luke's. Further reading
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