St Luke

“A louse? Really?” you might scoff, looking up at the spire of St Luke in London. You’d be echoing puzzled Londoners from decades past. See, this magnificent church, designed in part by the great Nicholas Hawksmoor, once bore a rather unfortunate nickname: “Lousy St Luke’s”. It all stemmed from the unusual weather vane atop the spire. Fashioned into the head of a dragon with a fiery, comet-like tail, it was, shall we say, misinterpreted by locals as a rather large louse! Built between 1727 and 1733, St Luke in London was commissioned to serve the growing population outside the City walls. Architects John James and Nicholas Hawksmoor, known for their work on notable churches like Christ Church Spitalfields, brought their expertise to this project. While James is believed to have designed the body of the church, it’s Hawksmoor’s influence we see in the unique obelisk spire, a rarity for an Anglican church. Sadly, the ground beneath St Luke in London proved less than ideal. Built on marshy ground near the historically waterlogged Moorfields, the church began to sink almost as soon as it was built. You can still see the effects today in the slightly wonky windows on the north side! By 1959, the subsidence, coupled with a shrinking congregation, led to the church’s closure. It stood roofless and derelict for decades, a hauntingly beautiful testament to its past. But like a phoenix, St Luke in London found new life. In 2003, after a stunning restoration, it reopened as LSO St Luke’s, a vibrant music centre operated by the London Symphony Orchestra. Today, the church’s spirit thrives, its walls resonating with music instead of whispers of its “lousy” past.