Church Of St Luke

NEWTON ABBOT

SX8770 LABURNUM ROAD, Milber 1012-1/11/172 (South side) CHURCH OF ST LUKE

II

Church. Begun 1936 and completed 1963, to the 1931 designs of Arthur Martin. MATERIALS: rendered walls with slate roofs; copper-clad tower roof. PLAN: planned in the form of a St Andrew's Cross, with 3 angled naves converging on the altar with an apsidal chancel. STYLE: Byzantine-Romanesque. EXTERIOR: round-arched 3-light windows to north and south sides of chancel. Squat crossing tower with pyramidal roof, shallow clasping buttresses and plat band meeting imposts of 2-light round-arched belfry windows; the tower has triangular projections with tall cavetto-moulded lights which connect to radiating chapels with similar 4-light windows. Chapels have, to west, similar 2-light windows and then angled links, each with segmental-arched surround to doorway, connected to outer faces of projecting west front; the west front has slightly projecting outer bays clasping recessed and gabled centre, with small round-arched light above continuous plat band and then large west window (round-arched and shouldered) above limestone ashlar surround framing central doorway and flanking 2-light square-headed windows; the outer projecting blocks have round-arched one-light windows. INTERIOR: of exceptional spatial quality, with the 3 naves radiating from the centre being linked together by arcades with granite columns, which are surmounted above by round-arched clerestorey windows; chapels are barrel-vaulted, and have granite columns with moulded capitals to deep rere-arches. The narthex is partitioned from the naves by a leaded glass screen, and has two staircases leading to the gallery above. Plain and severe design to high altar; pulpit is a later design, objected to by Arthur Martin who designed moveable lectern. Remarkable for its interior spatial quality and extraordinary centralised plan, which anticipates one of the principal characteristics of post-war planning. The design for the church was revealed to the vicar, J Keble Martin (brother of the architect and celebrated author of British Flora), in a dream. (Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Devon: London: 1989-).

Listing NGR: SX8734470137