St Luke's Church of Ireland Church, Main Street, Loughgall, Armagh, Co Armagh

St Luke's Church of Ireland Church, Loughgall

St Luke's Church is a late Georgian building in simple Gothic style, built in 1795 and substantially extended in the Victorian period. It forms an attractive landmark at one end of the village's main street and stands within a conservation area.

The original church comprises a nave and transepts with a western tower. The main entrance faces north. The north elevation displays a three-bay nave gable with a slightly projecting central bay that rises to a three-stage tower. The walls are constructed of coursed limestone with a projecting plinth, moulded cornice, and slightly projecting stop-chamfered pilasters at the extremities. The central bay features slightly projecting pilasters on each side containing narrow arch-headed blind slits at each stage. The outer bays each contain a Gothic-arched two-light lancet window with lozenge glazing in iron glazing bars, set in raised chamfered surrounds with projecting cills and surmounted by Gothic-arched drip moulds. The central entrance bay has a Gothic-arched doorway with a pair of panelled timber doors topped by a small-paned traceried fanlight, all set in a concave-moulded Gothic arch and approached by two stone steps. Above the doorway is a scrolling iron lamp bracket, and above that an inscribed stone set below a moulded label. The inscription reads: "this church was built AD 1795 Revd William Bisset Rector, Robert Cope Esqr, James Stothers, Church Wardens". The second stage of the tower contains a circular clock face set in a raised chamfered circular surround surmounted by a moulded label, with a plain platband marking the top of this stage. The third stage contains a Gothic-arched opening with two-light timber louvers set in a raised rusticated surround with a moulded label above. The top of the third stage is marked by a moulded cornice surmounted by crenellations, with a raised block to each side carrying a stone pinnacle and bearing a sunken quatrefoil panel.

The east elevation comprises a two-bay nave with a gabled transept projecting to the left and a tower end-bay to the right. The nave has a roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses and rendered walls with a slightly projecting plinth, plain stone eaves course, moulded cast iron gutter with circular cast iron downpipe, and limestone quoins to the right-hand extremity. The windows are Gothic-arched three-light openings with intersecting tracery and lozenge-shaped glazing, set in limestone dressings with projecting cills. Set back slightly from the main nave wall is the wall of the end bay, rendered as the nave with moulded cornice and slightly projecting pilaster to the right-hand extremity. Above this is the side of the tower in two stages divided by a plain platband, with rendered wet-dash walling and slightly raised ashlar limestone pilasters to the extremities. Narrow blind slits decorate the pilasters, and the top stage contains a Gothic-arched opening with louvers, with a pinnacled and crenellated parapet at the apex. The rear face of the tower is of similar design but without quatrefoils to the blocking stones of the parapet.

The projecting transept to the left-hand end of the nave has a roof slated as the nave and walls of snecked limestone with sandstone quoins to the extremities, a slightly projecting plinth with a battered face, and moulded metal gutters with pvc downpipes to each side wall. The gable transept contains a Gothic-arched three-light traceried window in dressed sandstone with lozenge glazing, and a small quatrefoil opening in sandstone in the apex. Each side wall of the transept contains a Gothic-arched two-light plate-traceried window in sandstone with deep splayed cill, featuring lozenge glazing to the north-side window and stained glass with storm glazing to the south-side window.

The south elevation comprises a central chancel gable flanked on each side by a transept side wall, all with walls as described for the east transept. The chancel gable has weathered buttresses with battered bases at the extremities and contains a Gothic-arched three-light traceried window in sandstone with stained glass and storm glazing. Above it is a relieving arch, and above that, in the apex, is a small quatrefoil opening. The south side of the west transept is similar to the east transept, with a metal gutter and pvc downpipe. The east elevation of the church is similar to the west elevation except for a rectangular ledged timber door in the plinth of the transept gable, set in a stop-chamfered sandstone surround, and a cast iron soil pipe in the angle between the nave and tower bay.

The church stands set back slightly from the main road within its own grounds. The front boundary is formed by a rubble stone wall containing a gateway. From the gateway, a tarmac path leads to the main entrance, flanked by gravelled areas containing a yew tree to each side, with grassed areas to the sides and rear of the church divided by gravel paths that surround it. To the east is a side gateway comprising a pair of hooped iron gates between square limestone piers.

The original church was built in 1795 with an architect who remains unidentified. A gallery was inserted in 1822. The chancel and transepts, which constitute the Victorian additions, were added in 1863 to 1866 under the supervision of architect William J. Barre, and the church was reconsecrated and dedicated to St Luke on 26 October 1866. The building retains most of its original features.