The last couple of Friday evenings, after finishing work, I’ve walked to South Kensington tube from my place of work on Millbank, by the Thames. It takes about 45 minutes, winding through Pimlico, the bottom end of Belgravia, Sloane Square, the Kings Road, deepest Chelsea and then South Ken. Posh London, you could say. It’s a lovely walk, and one of the highlights is St Luke’s church, hidden in the middle of Chelsea’s opulent housing. Until I started doing this walk a couple of years ago I had no idea that the church existed.
Not exactly hidden London, but undiscovered on my part. It has some attractive gardens on one side and a load of five-a-side football pitches on the other. The church was designed by James Savage in 1819 and was part of a Gothic revival architecturally. It was built as Chelsea expanded from a village on the fringes of London to an integral part of the city. Charles Dickens married Catherine Hogarth there in 1836.
Thoughtsfromwestfive 
I used to attend the Oratory Primary School around the corner so this building was part of my childhood landscape. I believe this was a “Commissioners’ church”, one of those built as a consequence of the Church Building Act of 1818. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissioners%27_church
Think you’re right. Is that Oratory school connected at all to the London Oratory senior school in Fulham/West Brompton? My son went there.
It was regarded as a feeder for London Oratory, suppose it still is. All associated with the Brompton Oratory church.
That makes sense.
Nice pic, John, there in the gathering dusk. Those sunny early evenings last week were spectacular.
That’s a cracking walk, and a great way of combining the commute with a good bit of exercise, and some fascinating meanderings. (Though be warned – you might start stretching it to Gloucester Road…. Barons Court…..Acton….)
I went to St Luke’s a couple of years ago for a godson’s choral concert, and it’s a nice spot. On a lower cultural level, that walk is punctuated by some top pubs. We ought to work out a mini-crawl one day!
That’s a good idea! I quite like the Builder’s Arms in Britten Street, near the church.
Very neat!
Thanks!