A Short History of St. Luke's Parish church

(Text from St. Luke's Magazine - October 1988)

(Photographs are of the present day - 2006)

The Font and Baptistry

The carved stone Font was given by Miss French in about 1898. The beautifully carved oak Font Cover is in memory of Dr. Arthur Sansom. The Baptistry was given by public subscription as a memorial to Mr. John E. Wellum who served St. Luke’s as a Churchwarden. The carved oak screen and panelling by Messrs. Wake and Dean of Bristol was completed in 1935. The fine oak Standard Candle holders were given in 1945 in memory of Douglas F. Spencer who was killed whilst serving in the R.A.F.

Figure of the Holy Child and His Mother

This carved Portland Stone Figure of the Madonna and Holy Child is the work of local craftsmen, Templeman & Son Ltd., from the design of Mr. D. C. Burridge and was given by a member of our congregation in memory of her mother in 1958.

The Pulpit

Of carved oak, this was given by public subscription in memory of the Revd. Canon Frank C. Learoyd, first Vicar of St. Luke’s. He served from 1915 to 1944, and during that incumbency was Rural Dean of Bournemouth from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1943 to 1946. The design of W.H.Randall Blacking shows a marked similarity to the pulpit in Salisbury Cathedral, which he also designed. The decorative shields on the pulpit depict from left to right – the Arms of the Province of Canterbury, the Diocese of Winchester, the Parish of St. Luke our Patron, the Parish of St. John Moordown (from which this parish was originally created), the Parish of St. Peter (the Mother Church of Bournemouth).

The Chancel Screen

This wrought iron screen is from the design of Messrs. J. White & Sons of Frome and was given in 1937 by Miss M. Le Neve Foster, who was a relative of Field Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum.

The Lectern

A fine brass Eagle reading desk given by an anonymous donor at Easter 1907.

The Choir Stalls and Screen

Of Austrian oak exquisitely designed, these were erected some 60 years ago and combine well with the all-marble floor of the chancel and sanctuary.