St Luke's Church, Great Crosby

St Luke’s Church stands on Liverpool Road near the centre of Great Crosby, a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool and holds Grade II listed status on the National Heritage List for England. The church was rebuilt at the east end after a serious fire in 1972. Designed by A. and G. Holme, it opened in 1853–54 with a foundation stone laid by local benefactor John Myers. The tower received a clock and six bells in 1864, and further changes followed in 1888 and 1969. The church’s exterior is built of coursed sandstone rubble with freestone dressings under a steel roof. Its Decorated Gothic style includes a wide four-bay nave, north and south transepts, a chancel, and a 120-foot west steeple with a broach spire. The tower’s three stages feature a west doorway, a three-light window, a clock face, and louvred bell openings. Inside, pitch pine pews from St Benedict’s Church, Everton, replaced damaged box pews after the fire. Surviving items include the holy table and credence table, which had been treated with fire-proofing, and a royal coat of arms of William IV on the gallery front. The stained glass in the transepts, restored after the fire, shows biblical scenes by Capronnier. Plain glass fills the nave windows, and a two-manual Walker’s organ from the 1970s stands in place. Six bells cast in 1863 by George Mears and Company remain in use, the heaviest weighing 1,382 pounds. The Grade II listing recognises the church as nationally important and of special interest.