Former Church Of St Luke

The former Church of St Luke, now a ruin, was built between 1727 and 1733. The authorship of the design is disputed, with the main body of the church possibly by John James and the west tower, spire, and flanking staircase wings attributed to Nicholas Hawksmoor. The church is constructed with brick facing ashlar and stucco. Originally, the church comprised a chancel, nave, aisles, and a west tower with a spire and flanking staircase wings. Now, only the outer walls of the chancel, nave, and aisles remain. The east end features a central Palladian window set upon a slightly projecting plinth, with a lower square window featuring a plain architrave and double keystone, and an upper round-arched window, also with a plain architrave and double keystone, on either side. The north and south elevations display corresponding upper and lower windows across five bays. The easternmost bay on the north side incorporates a single-storey stuccoed vestry, while the corresponding bay on the south side has an entrance with an architrave and floating cornice. A dentil cornice runs along the top. The staircase wings each have entrances to their south and north sides, featuring an architrave, floating cornice, and an oculus above. Their western sides have a square window with a plain architrave, double keystone, and oculus above, with a moulded eaves cornice. The tower's base has a round-arched west entrance with an archivolt and keystone framed by pilasters supporting an entablature with a triglyph frieze, and an oculus above. There is a storey band, and large oculi on three sides where the tower fronts the body of the church. The bellstage has round-arched openings, followed by another oculus stage, and finally a fluted obelisk spire. The remaining interior consists of a domed vestibule beneath the tower and staircases within the side wings.