St. Luke, Ironbridge
The beginnings of the parish.
The building of the bridge in 1779 resulted in the growth
of a settled population in its immediate area. The district, at
the time, formed part of the parish of Madeley.
The nearest churches were at Broseley and Madeley and,
following the spiritual revival brought about by the teaching of
Whitfield, Wesley and Fletcher, a few earnest and influential
residents thought that a church should be built in Iron Bridge.
On 26th December 1834 a small meeting of parishioners was held in
the Savings Bank. Estimates had been invited for building the
proposed church, which was designed by Thomas Smith of Madeley.
The lowest of these was accepted - that of Samuel Smith and Son
of Madeley Wood.
A committee was formed in 1835 to organise funds by
subscription, and the final cost of the building alone was £2942
16s 1d. The total cost was £3232 1s 11d, including £50 for the
site. We are told that 321,000 bricks were used in the
construction. (Bricks were then priced at 8s 0d per thousand.)
The church was completed by the middle of 1837 but, owing
to the death of the then Bishop of Hereford, it was not
consecrated until 26th October 1837, although permission had been
given for services to be held prior to the consecration.
A guide to the church.
The building has a tower, a nave, side aisles and a small
sanctuary. The tower contains a three dial clock, placed there by
public subscription in 1838 at a cost of £125 and made by W.
Davies of Shifnal.
The position of Ironbridge church is the reverse of the
majority of churches, the sanctuary being at the west end and the
tower at the east end. This is due to the fact that it was
discovered that the land at the west end would not bear the
weight of a tower.
The stained glass windows are the work of D. Evans of
Shrewsbury. They depict the three saints, Peter, John and James.
The other glass was manufactured at Smethwick and the ironwork
(pillars etc.) supplied by the Coalbrookdale Company and Messrs
Walton of Ironbridge. The timber used in the building came from
the Baltic Provinces and was brought to Bristol, and from there
was conveyed in barges up the Severn.
The interior of the church is of simple construction, with
a gallery on three sides supported along the front by iron
pillars and under the floor by iron brackets. There were
originally 1062 sittings. Some pews were removed in 1900 when the
present organ was installed, some when the War Memorial was
placed in the church in 1920, a further number in 1933 to
accommodate a new pulpit, and some more in 1979 to create more
space.
The mosaic tiled floor in the space between
the choir stalls was laid in 1876, and in 1912 the church was
renovated and a new Choir Vestry constructed by enclosing the
west end of the north aisle. The set of eight tubular bells was
installed in 1920.
| DAY | TIME | SERVICE |
| 1st & 3rd Sundays | 11.00 a.m. | Holy Communion |
| 2nd & 4th Sundays | 11.00 a.m. | Praise & Prayer for All |
| 5th Sunday | As Announced |
