Skip over main navigation
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
St Luke's Parochial Trust (St Luke's Community Centre)

Activities and services at the heart of the South Islington community.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Donate
Menu
  • About us
    • About St Luke's
      • What we do & who we help
      • Our history
      • History of the area
    • Area we cover
    • Safe Haven
    • Governance
    • Our people
      • Board of trustees
      • Staff
    • Latest news
    • Vacancies
    • Our blog
  • Our centre & room hire
    • About our Community Centre
    • Room hire at St Luke's
      • Room hire
      • Our rooms
      • Cookery School
      • Central Street Cafe
      • Community hire
    • Events catering
    • Our Community Fridge
  • Membership
  • Events
  • Activities
    • Weekly activities
    • A-Z of services at St Luke's
    • Families and Children
    • Over 55s
      • Over 55s weekly activities
      • Lunch Club
      • Men's Shed
      • Transport service
    • Advice and counselling services
    • Youth and children
    • PC Pals
    • Massage & wellness
  • Employment
    • Job Club
    • Suited and booted for men
    • Firm Futures
    • Online Centre
    • Belange's Firm Futures story
    • Rosie's Job Club story
  • Gardening
    • Community Gardening Activities
    • Our green spaces
    • Our hens
    • Gardening/food growing directory
  • Support us
    • Why we need your help
    • Donate
    • Corporate support
    • Volunteer for us
    • Funders
    • Legacy giving
    • Fundraise for us
  • Cookery School
  • Cafe
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • Our history
  1. About us
  2. About St Luke's
  3. Our history

Our history

St Luke's Parochial Trust is an amalgamation of smaller trusts, the earliest of which date back to the sixteenth century.

Many years ago, the area of St Luke's was densely populated with extremely high levels of disease and poverty. In those days people often left legacies in their wills to the poor of the parish. For example, gifts of money or property were bequeathed to provide income to give bread, clothing or coals to widows, school children and orphans, or operate almshouses.

Over the centuries, these gifts were accumulated into large parish (or parochial) trusts. Some of these ancient charities exist to this day, and St Luke's is one.
As an old parochial charity, St. Luke's may only spend its own money helping improve the conditions of life of those residents living in the area of benefit, which is the ancient parish of St Luke's, Old Street. In today's terms the area is mainly Bunhill Ward in south Islington and a parts of the City of London, Clerkenwell ward and Hackney. See our Area of Benefit.

A longer, yet still brief, history of St Luke's Charity, and its historic connections written by a former Clerk, David Green, can be downloaded here.

St Luke's Community Centre

For centuries, St Luke's main activity was paying pensions and grants to poor people. In March 1982 St Luke's opened its community centre for the benefit of its existing pensioners and other residents living in the area. The Community Centre was previously a London School Board primary school and then the Frank Barnes School for the Deaf. It was converted into a community centre principally for older people since at the time this age group were considered the most in need and were more populous at that time.

Church of St Luke's, Old Street

St Luke's Church on Old Street, from where the area’s name originates, is no longer consecrated and is now a performance space for the London Symphony Orchestra. No religious links remain between us and the building, although upon its deconsecration, the church parish was taken back into the parish of St Giles', Cripplegate, with whom we still maintain strong links.


A detailed but unpublished history of the church written by the last ever Rector Revd Edward Rogers can be downloaded here.

Published: 17th March, 2016

Updated: 18th November, 2020

Author:

Share this page
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest

  • St Luke's Members Receive Covid-19 Vaccine

    St Luke's Members Receive Covid-19 Vaccine

  • Online tutorials

    Online tutorials

    Visit our YouTube Channel and subscribe for tutorials and information about St Luke's.

  • Chair of Governors: Worrall and Fuller

    Chair of Governors: Worrall and Fuller

  • Governor Vacancies: Worrall and Fuller

    Governor Vacancies: Worrall and Fuller

Most read

  • Special offers on room hire until 30th June 2021

    Special offers on room hire until 30th June 2021

    We understand the uncertainty of booking a room at this time. We have adapted our T&Cs so you can cancel with a full refund a week before your event. We are also offering a 50% discount through to 30th June 2021.

  • Contact us

    Contact us

  • About the centre

    About the centre

    We own a large Community Centre on the edge of the City of London, a diverse area containing extremes of wealth and poverty. Our modern Community Centre provides a space for local people to gather and socialise, and for us and other organisations to deliver services and activities for the local community at little or no cost.

  • Garden Room

    With its own private entrance and exclusive use of a terrace garden, this spacious and flexible room offers the perfect setting for conferences, seminars, training events and parties. It is a blank canvas to create the right setting and configuration for your event, and benefits from neutral, stylish décor and lots of natural light.

  • The Loft

    The Loft occupies the whole third floor of the Community Centre, and has exclusive use of an entrance (ante) room, kitchen area and toilet, within this spacious and versatile area. It is bright and airy, and ideal for meetings, conferences, training, seminars or less formal events. Its exposed Victorian steel beams and skylight windows offer wonderful views over the roof tops of London.

  • What we do and who we help

    What we do and who we help

    We own a large Community Centre on the edge of the City of London, a diverse area containing extremes of wealth and poverty. Our modern Community Centre provides a space for local people to gather and socialise, and for us and other organisations to deliver services and activities to the local community at low or no cost to them. We also work outside in the community supporting other groups and running community events.

  • Studio

    The Studio is a bright and exciting space for any occasion. Truly unique, this spacious room with its high ceilings and distinctive red walls will provide a striking backdrop to your conference or party. It includes a wall of mirrors with a professional barre for dance classes.

  • Vacancies at St Luke's

  • Our people

  • About the Cookery School

    About the Cookery School

    Our stylish, contemporary Cookery School in central London opened in 2012 as a self-funding facility to enable St Luke’s to deliver free or low-cost cookery classes and projects to benefit our community, which are funded by the private hire of the School.

For all our latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your email address Please enter a valid email address (e.g. [email protected])


For more information on how your data is stored and used please look at our Privacy Statement.
  • Terms and condition
  • Privacy Statement
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility
  • Site map
St Luke's Trust is a registered charity number 207497. Registered address is: St Luke's Community Centre, 90 Central Street, London EC1V 8AJ. Telephone: 020 7549 8181, email: [email protected], website: www.slpt.org.uk   Copyright: St Luke's Trust 2017