St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church
About this property
St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church is a former parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. It was closed in 2010. The parish was the merger of two separate churches. St. Margaret's (dedicated to Margaret of Antioch) was founded in 1862 in the nearby neighborhood of Brighton Center, which was then an independent town. The founders were associated with Church of the Advent in Boston, and St Margaret's was similarly Anglo-Catholic in practice and worship. St. Luke's was founded in 1892, in Allston, which was then a rapidly growing white-collar neighborhood. It was the only parish in the diocese founded under Bishop Phillips Brooks, the famous preacher and author of O Little Town of Bethlehem. An initial church building was built in 1895, at the corner or Brighton Avenue and St. Luke's Road. A rectory next door was later added. A larger church building was built adjacent in 1915, and the old sanctuary was converted to a parish hall. St. Luke's was broadly low church in worship. In the 1950s and 60s, as former members moved further out of Boston, attendance at both churches declined, and in 1967 the two parishes merged. They consolidated at the St. Luke's location, and the St. Margaret's buildings were sold. The combined parish continued to struggle, but it enjoyed a resurgence of attendance and activity in the 1980s and 1990s, beginning under the rectorship of Mary Glasspool (who would later become the first open lesbian bishop in the Anglican Communion). In the 2000s, though, membership again dwindled, and the congregation was reduced from a full parish to a mission. In February 2010, the diocese announced that it was closing the mission, while retaining the property as a base for its "Micah Project", a residential internship program for young adults. The closing service was held on the feast of Pentecost, May 23, 2010. Among the celebrants were the last vicar and three former pastors, including Bishop Glasspool. The buildings, located at 5-7 St. Luke's Road, comprise a sanctuary, parish hall and rectory. The parish hall and rectory are in the half-timber, "Tudorbethan" style. The sanctuary is in the style of an English country church, but in brick. The original chapel, which later became the upper parish hall, and the rectory were designed in 1895 by Francis R. Allen; the larger sanctuary was designed in 1913 by J. Lawrence Berry and Harry E. Davidson. Berry and Davidson had previously worked for Allen. Davidson was a member of the congregation, and Berry later rejoined Allen's successor firm of Allen & Collens as a partner. The assemblage was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church
This page lists St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church listed on the National Register?
St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1997.
What type of historic resource is St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church?
St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church?
The period of significance for St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Suffolk County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Suffolk County.
Explore SuffolkCounty ›More historic places in Massachusetts
Browse all historic places in Massachusetts.
View Massachusettshistoric sites ›Massachusetts history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Massachusettshistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.