There
can be few less likely settings for a church than
that of St Luke. It sits among bungalows and
semi-detacheds in the 1960s south Lowestoft infill
between Kirkley and the
ring road. Tucked in among the yellow brick
houses is this curious building behind its polite
suburban wall. You almost expect to see a neatly
clipped lawn and a Dun-Sinnin sign
hanging on the gate. It is built in the style of
the houses around it; and yet, it is not
uninteresting.
Dating from 1960 (the
foundation stone was laid in 1959), it
was built as a chapel of ease to St
Mark and in what Mortlock
memorably refers to as ranch-style.
The construction is actually quite
complex, consisting of a variety of
bricks and pebbledash, low-pitched and
flat roofs. A dual-purpose hall is
partitioned off from the sanctuary,
which is lit from several tall side
windows as at Ipswich
St Luke, a church of which
this is reminiscent. The elegant
brick-lined sanctuary is set in white
walls, creating a real focus.
The
one outstanding feature to be seen from
the road is a tall, wooden cross, which
signals the main purpose of this building
to its not dissimilar neighbours. The
couple on duty inside on Historic
Churches Bike Ride day 2009 were very
proud of what has been achieved here over
the last half a century; and so they
should be, for this building is in
regular use by local groups of young and
old people, providing a valuable to
resource to what is by no means one of
England's richest towns.
Simon Knott, November 2009
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