St Luke's Church, Torver
History
The original church was built in 1849, and designed by Miles Thompson of Kendal. It was rebuilt in 1884 to a design by the Lancaster partnership of Paley and Austin. It provided seating for 150 people, and cost £1,350 (equivalent to £178,000 in 2023).
Architecture
St Luke's is described by the architectural historians Hyde and Pevsner as being "chunky" and "robust". It is constructed in dressed slate with sandstone dressings and slate roofs. Its plan consists of a three-bay nave and a chancel, with a tower between them. On the north side is a vestry, and on the south side is a porch. The windows and the entrance are round-headed, the entrance arch being decorated with zigzags (a motif typical of Norman architecture). At the west end are a pair of windows, and at the east end are three windows, the central one being wider than the others. The tower has buttresses on the north and south sides, louvred bell openings, a coped cornice, and a low pyramidal roof surmounted by a fish weathervane. Internally, the tower is supported by round arches. The church contains a plain octagonal font.
The two-manual organ was built by Young in 1899. The organ was restored by Roger Mallinson of Windermere in 2014/2015.
Pevsner wrote that "one would have to search far and search long in England to find village churches to vie with" this and two other Austin and Paley churches, Dolphinholme and Finsthwaite.
See also
References
- ^ St Luke, Torver, Church of England, retrieved 7 October 2011
- ^ Historic England, "Church of St Luke, Torver (1087212)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 7 October 2011
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 235, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
- ^ Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2010) [1967], Cumbria, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 640, ISBN 978-0-300-12663-1
- ^ "NPOR [D00945]", National Pipe Organ Register, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 29 June 2020
- ^ Mainwaring-Taylor, Flossie (2015), "South Lakeland church welcomes sound of music after major restoration of organ", Westmorland Gazette, retrieved 7 May 2015
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1969). North Lancashire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 33. ISBN 0300096178.