Due to an increase of the population in Wallsend, supported by both coalmining and shipbuilding industries, the parish of St Peter, Wallsend was divided in 1887, with the western portion becoming the new parish of St Luke, complete with a new church. The foundation stone was laid in 1885, and the building was consecrated in 1887, although construction was not completed until 1906. One of the key donors to the new building was George B. Hunter, then managing partner of the Swan Huntershipbuilding company. The long association between the church and the company saw St Luke’s nicknamed the ‘Shipyard Church’. In 2001 the parish was merged with that of St Peter, Wallsend, reuniting the original parish and the two sister churches.
Tradition
The church was founded in the Anglo-Catholic mould. Indeed, during the incumbency of the second vicar, Fr William O'Brady-Jones, Anglo-Catholic practices were listed in given to the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Discipline in 1904. But after his departure 1908, with the then Bishop of Newcastle being unsympathetic to Anglo-Catholics, a Low Churchman was appointed. The High Church tradition lay dormant until Fr Colin Turnbull, who began his ministry as an assistant curate at St Peter's, Wallsend, was made vicar.
Stained Glass
Inside, the church's most striking feature is the magnificent east Window. It portrays the Crucifixion, and was unveiled in 1922 as a memorial to the men of the parish who died on active service during the First World War. Designed by the artist Wilhelmina Geddes, it has been widely lauded and described by Nikolaus Pevsner as of ‘quite exceptionally high quality’ and is regarded as one of her finest works.
Other notable features
The church’s architecture is in the Early English Gothic style, designed by Oliver, Leeson & Wood, and the tower is an easily recognisable landmark on the Wallsend skyline. Originally it was meant to be even taller, with a spire on top: however, quicksand below prevented this being carried out. The pipe organ is by Abbot & Smith of Leeds, and its is detailed at the National Pipe Organ Register. The vestries at the west end of the church are a memorial to Kathleen O'Brady-Jones, the eldest daughter of Fr O’Brady-Jones. She was accidentally shot during a rehearsal for an entertainment organised by the church in the nearby Co-op Hall, by a boy who had bought a revolver in the Bigg Market in Newcastle: whilst showing it to his friends the gun fired and Kathleen was killed.
Following large-scale alterations to the building in 2009-10, the church has become a home for many of the community gatherings which met in the old church hall. The west end of the church has been augmented and converted into halls and a kitchen that play host to a number of community groups. Also, the vestries are home to the Walking With Project, a charity set up by Wallsend Churches Working Together that supports asylum seekers and refugees in the North Tyneside area.
