religious
F. X. Velarde, 1954
28 Love Lane, Pinner, HA5 3EX
A suburban post-war Catholic church built in a neo-Romanesque version of the continental modern style by Velarde, next to the original neo-gothic church from 1915, now a parish centre, and alongside the modernistic 1960s parish hall.
Pinner
Hatch End
183, H11, H12, H13
The church is in the centre of Pinner, less than 5 minutes from Pinner station. There is a public car park by the M&S on Love Lane.
The Catholic parish of St Luke's in Pinner was founded in 1914, meeting in Dudley House at Hatch End. In 1915 the foundation stone for a new church, designed by Percy Lamb, was laid in Love Lane.
A larger church was required and in 1957 a church by F. X. Velarde was built alongside, in a distinctive neo-Romanesque version of the continental modern style he had employed at St Monica Bootle in the 1930s. The exterior is of pale brown brick laid in English garden wall bond and with roof coverings of copper. The plan comprises a nave and sanctuary under a continuous pitched roof with twin west towers, with a prominent large Portland stone statue of the Virgin Mary sitting for St Luke on the facade.
In 1965 a new parish hall was built behind Velarde’s church, a striking modern design by G. H. and G. P. Grima. In 1986 the old church was adapted by Keystone architects to serve as a parish centre.
Post-Vatican II reordering has seen the removal of the high altar and the communion rails, but the new furnishings are in keeping with the style of the church.
In 2011 St Luke's became the first church in the diocese to install solar panels on the roof of the church