Church Of St Luke

SUNDERLAND

NZ35NE MERLE TERRACE 920-1/4/140 (West side) 10/11/78 Church of St Luke (Formerly Listed as: MERLE STREET, Pallion (West side) Church of St Luke)

II

Parish church. 1874. By JP Pritchett. Thin uneven courses of rubble with ashlar dressings and red sandstone nookshafts, roof of graduated stone slates with stone gable copings. High chancel and 5-bay nave with S aisle, N porch and NE tower. EXTERIOR: late C13 style with geometric tracery to 4-light E window, 3-light W under vesica. NE tower has N door, 2-light window in second stage and blind roundels in short third stage, tall louvred belfry openings with crocket-capitalled shafts, parapet and corner blocks replacing pinnacles removed in 1982 when spire taken down. Gabled N porch has ball flower stopped dripmould over roll moulded arch on water leaf capitalled nook shafts. Inner arch in similar style to doors with tendril wrought-iron hinges. INTERIOR: high chancel arch on paired corbelled shafts. Blind S arcade with block capitals on pilasters,and roll-moulded soffits to N arcade with crocket capitals on round piers, both red sandstone, the N with high ogee-moulded bases. Scissor-braced roof on moulded corbels has 2 levels of purlins and ashlar posts to common rafters. Painted stone reredos has 4 cusped arches on shafts. Octagonal stone font with crocket shafts and high relief panels on each side of bowl showing symbols of evangelists. Pews panelled with shaped ends. High quality glass in E window shows Christ in Glory with Passion and Crucifixion, commemorating Martha Short, wife of George Short [shipbuilder], d.1893; W window in N aisle by Powell & Bros., Leeds, to George Short, d.1863, in medieval style showing Noah and Ark, and St Joseph the carpenter. (Corfe T: The Buildings of Sunderland 1814-1914.: Newcastle upon Tyne: 1983-: 23).

Listing NGR: NZ3759057376