History
The history of Christ church Luton is one of three churches rather than one.
The first church depicted to the side of this text appears to have been built in 1842 (Bagshaw, 1847). Originally built as the church, for most of its existence it served instead as the church hall. No record has been discovered of its’ de-consecration so it would appear that it remained technically a church throughout its existence, remaining in use until the 1960’s. This 1842 church was built on the opposite side of Upper Luton Road to the church today, between Church Terrace and Luton Road with a church school along side of it. Today's church has the original church bell known as the “late bell” hung in its belfry. This is inscribed with the date of 1842 and was recovered from the second church building. Details of the burials in the churchyard are held at the church office.
To the right is a painting (currently hanging in the chapel at Christ Church) of the second church building dating from 1884 which was consecrated on Tuesday 14th July 1885. This church was designed by the architect E R Robson and built by Messrs Naylor and Son from Rochester. Originally the church was not built with a tower and it was this late addition in 1929 (together with bells) that in the end proved to be the building’s undoing. The site is a difficult one for construction due to the gradient and even during initial construction settlement occurred and underpinning was required. Ultimately, this difficult gradient, together with the addition of the tower, and the dry summers of the 1970's caused the site to be deemed unsafe in the early 1980’s. This meant that the building had to be replaced and the church building closed for the final time at Easter in 1982.
The photo on the right was taken from a baptism certificate presented in Christ Church in 1931.
Following the closure of this building the congregation worshipped at the Methodist Church, which at that time was on the corner of Connaught Road. We moved into our new church building in 1984 and we are now a “Local Ecumenical Partnership” (LEP) with Anglicans and Methodists worshipping side-by-side as part of one church. As an interesting footnote to the closure of the “old church”, it was proved once again that God certainly has a sense of humour when during demolition it was the tower that proved the most challenging part of the old church to take down.
The picture on the left depicts the new church building as it appeared when it was completed in 1984, and the one underneath is the church as it appears today. It was designed by the architect Patrick O’ Keefe, built by G E Wallis and Sons and dedicated on the 15th September 1984 by The Rt Revd David Say, then Bishop of Rochester. The church and hall were designed with the community in mind and both are in use on a daily basis.
The new church was designed without pillars in order to make the most efficient use of the internal space and maximise visibility within the church. It is built in a modern design, but thought and care were taken in retaining elements from the previous much loved church including the original stained glass windows – both in the chapel and the church itself - and the reredos still taking pride of place behind the altar. The church is built on two levels with the hall on the ground floor and the church on the first floor. Built with access for all in mind we have a built in lift and because of the site gradient both floors have street level access.
The present church includes a chapel for prayer and meditation, as well as regular services. The windows from the 1884 church contrast with the 1980’s architecture to show that ancient and modern can be an effective and sometimes inspiring combination.
The following photos show the stained glass windows from the previous church now in the Chapel and Church respectively, and the interior of the main church.
