Opening up St Luke’s for the whole community
An update on our planned renovation
In common with many other older churches, we are planning to renovate St Luke’s. Renovation will include modernising and enhancing St Luke’s so that it can better meet the needs of today’s church and parish. One of our goals is to open up the church to the whole community.
St Luke’s was built in 1865. At that time, with the exception of a few houses in Wellsway, the area was largely farmland. Our predecessors showed great ambition and confidence in building a relatively large church and in due course, the community did indeed expand dramatically and come to fill the church – so much so that the church needed a large extension in 1913.
Today, sandwiched between busy Bloomfield Road and the even busier Wellsway, St Luke’s is to some extent cut off from the community it serves. We hope that our modernised church will once again be a local landmark and place of welcome for the whole neighbourhood.
Access and welcome for all
With this in mind, we plan to dramatically improve access, making it easier for all to see into and come into the building.
The church was originally conceived with two entrances - one on the south side (facing Hatfield Road) which is still in daily use and one on the north side (facing the Church Centre), which we do not currently use. We plan to restore and enhance this north entrance, making it the main entrance to the church during weekdays. It is directly under the bell tower and anyone using the Church Centre, for example, or coming up Wellsway, will be able to locate the entrance and come into the church.
Like everywhere in Bath, we are on a fairly steep site, but will be introducing new footpaths that will create level access to both entrances for those who prefer to avoid steps.
return to top
Inside the church and facing the Church Centre, we are going to create an informal, comfortably furnished, social area. Clear glass in a large new window will provide a view directly into this area, where tea and coffee and companionship will be on offer during the week, plus, of course, access to a quiet area of the church for those who wish to pray. Changes to the north side will also make the building more visible and welcoming to those travelling up and down Wellsway. A new office area will benefit visitors to the Church Centre and we will have new toilets, accessible to all.
Inside the main part of the church, we plan to remove the changes of floor level which are inconvenient for many. Along with improved heating, new lighting and internal decorations, this will improve the St Luke’s experience for visitors.
Since we replaced the pews with seats (a move which has proved very popular) we have been able to accommodate local schools and other groups more easily. We hope that this improved flexibility inside the building will encourage other community groups to make use of what is a spacious and attractive building.
New landscaping and paths, accessible entrances and friendly hospitality will benefit people of all ages as they use St Luke’s and its grounds as somewhere to rest, to drop in or to seek companionship during the week. Our aim is for a revitalised St Luke’s to become a modern, warm and welcoming presence for the whole local community to use and enjoy.