ST LUKE OLD STREET (CHURCH)

'St Luke' is a historic Anglican church in the London Borough of Islington.
The church is sited on Old Street, north of the City of London, and was built to relieve the church of St Giles-without-Cripplegate, Cripplegate^[1], under the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches, an attempt to meet the religious needs of London's burgeoning 18th century population. It was completed and the corresponding parish of St Luke's created in 1733.
The church was designed by John James, though the obelisk spire and its base are by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The church was closed by the Diocese of London in 1964 and lay empty, the roof being removed and the shell becoming a ruin for 40 years, despite being a Grade I listed building.

Buried in the small churchyard, are architect George Dance the Elder, at one time a member of the vestry, and father and son type founders William Caslon^[2].
After several proposals to redevelop it as offices, It was converted by the London Symphony Orchestra as a concert hall rehearsal/ recording space and educational resource. The conversion was designed by Levitt Bernstein Architects^[2]. During 2006 the BBC used the venue to record intimate concerts by Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon for broadcast. Sir Elton John also recorded an intimate concert, which was used to publicise his album that had been released; The Captain and The Kid. In 2007, MTV used the venue to record an intimate concert from Editors, which is due to be broadcast in the UK in June 2007.

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References

1. Timeline of London accessed 25 Apr 2007
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External links

★ LSO site on church