Delve into the history of LSO St Luke’s, our venue on Old Street.
The building hasn’t been in use as a church since 1959 when it was deconsecrated. It is now the LSO’s venue, rehearsal space and music education centre.
No. The church was built on marshy ground and, only a year or two after it was consecrated in 1733, sections of the building started to subside. These problems eventually led to the building being deconsecrated.
By 1959 the walls were quite unstable and the roof was supported mainly by columns running down the centre of the church. The summer of 1959 was very warm and as a result more subsidence occurred. The floor sank, leaving the columns hanging from the roof. This time the cost of repairs was far too much to raise and the decision was taken to close the church.
The obelisk spire is Nicholas Hawksmoor’s work; the body of the church is thought to be the work of John James.
The roof was stripped off and the interior gutted. We understand that the organ case and the pews were given to St Giles Cripplegate to replace those damaged during the war.
The building was boarded up and left open to the elements for nearly 40 years. When the LSO first came to look at it in the mid-1990s, the interior was full of thriving plants. The whole crypt structure was compromised by years of neglect and had to be replaced.
The walls have been shored up and can now support themselves and the secondary glazing – which makes the Hall entirely soundproof. The four metal ‘trees’ support the new roof, the lighting gantry and the balcony.
Levitt Bernstein
The building is Grade 1 Listed and we worked very closely with English Heritage. We were allowed to build a new entrance at the rear of the building where there used to be a vestry; this is used as a day-to-day entrance and for loading in equipment.
Although the Crypt was substantial, we needed more spaces for smaller project work and meeting rooms, as well as a room to house the Gamelan instruments (a Balinese percussion ensemble). The facilities in the Crypt were therefore expanded by excavating outwards underneath the grass at front and back of the churchyard.
Oxford Archeology were commissioned to do a major research project into the burials in church and churchyard. No one was buried here after about 1850, but they attempted to contact any families if they could be traced.
The bodies were carefully removed and have been reburied in consecrated ground at Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey. This took a long time and no work could be done on the building until it was finished.
In the London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB / +44 20 7332 3820.
You can also try the Family Records Centre, in 1 Myddleton Street (close to the London Metropolitan Archives) / +44 20 8392 5300.
UBS is the name of a company launched in July 1998, after the merger of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland. UBS were a major private funder of LSO St Luke’s when it was opened and are based nearby at Liverpool Street.
The overall budget was around 18 million pounds.
The LSO raised the money with the help of many organisations and individuals who were very generous with their support. Lists of donors can be found just inside the corridor from the Main Entrance and on the back wall of the Crypt Café downstairs.
LSO St Luke’s is the home of LSO Discovery, our learning and community programme, a rehearsal space for the LSO, and a venue for a range of events.
When the Centre isn’t being used by the LSO, we hire it out to external clients. The money from this provides almost all of our revenue to run the building – LSO St Luke’s receives very little revenue funding. Since opening in March 2003 we have done a huge variety of events, from rehearsals, recordings and concerts to conferences, filming, banqueting, launches, awards ceremonies and fashion shows!
LSO St Luke’s is a working building, only open to the public when we have a public event happening. We can organise tours of the building, which should be booked in advance.
You can view forthcoming events on our website, or pick up a copy of our events guide when you’re next visiting the building.
The LSO rehearses at LSO St Luke’s, but the Orchestra is too large for public performances, other than of smaller chamber works.
