Church of St Luke

Cadw's description

Location

Set into the wooded hillside above the Ebbw Vale just above the centre of Abercarn, reached up a side road and approached through a shallow stone tiled gateway and up a steep terraced double flight of steps to W front.

History

Built 1923-6 (foundation stone dated AD MLM xxiii). By J Coates Carter, architect of Cardiff and Penarth. Became redundant in the 1980s. Interior originally lined with boarding with slender cast iron columns to aisles.

Exterior

Large church in dramatically simplified Early Gothic style. Of roughly dressed freestone and concrete with few ashlar dressings. Plan of aisled nave with parish rooms on lower ground floor at west end, tall S tower, chancel with overlapping aisles, N porch, SE vestries. 2-storey W front with tall, crenellated and buttressed centre bay, the buttresses with offsets, deep string and battered plinth; long and narrow twin lancets, sill band. At lower level is a wide central entrance doorway with deep recessed arch, cyclopean hoodmould , imposts and jambs, leaded fanlight over lintel. Outer bays have triple lancets over wide pointed arched opening to left with further lower ground floor entrance doorway below; to right two tiers of lancets. Nave clerestory and aisles with parapets, stringcourses, waterspouts; single and paired lancets, tall chimney at NW. N porch has square-headed doorway under hoodmould which extends to sides, cyclopean masonry; interior has concrete vault. E chancel parapet is stepped up with tunnel vault behind; E window of 5 stepped lancets. Tall square tapered S tower has projecting stair turret, corbelled crenellated top, paired louvred lancets to bell chamber, round-arched doorway with impost band, no buttresses.

Interior

Interior of exposed masonry and concrete; wide uneven 4-centred arches with polygonal piers without capitals to nave arcades, paired clerestory lancets over spandrels; quadrant arches abut similar wide chancel arch; flat ceilings. One step up to chancel, 3 to sanctuary and a flight of steps at W end leads to lower level entrance and rooms. No furnishings survive.

Reason for designation

Listed Grade II*, notwithstanding condition, as one of the most strikingly original churches built in Britain between the World Wars.