St Luke's, Cheetham, Manchester

[beannie]

Hi All
An update on St Luke's, I went past yesterday and the grass has been cut, so now you can see the gravestones at the front and down the left hand side of the church. The grass at the back is still long, but looks like that will be getting done also, looks so much better. If anyone wants any photos I suggest you go soon before it falls into disarray again.
kind regards
Beannie

[Jolyon]

Beannie,

Thank you for the info but... major problem was always access.   Has that changed?

Jolyon

[beannie]

Hi Jolyon
Sorry it it still fenced off all around, maybe you could gain access when the workmen are there during the week, I'm sure they will be cutting the grass at the back of the church and removing a big pile of rubbish at the front.
Let us know if you have any luck.

Kind regards
beannie

[MikeOwen]

This really is an absurd situation! 

I know that 4 great-grandparents (Owen and Oakes), along with at least one great-uncle, are buried in St Luke's Cemetary. How can a cemetery simply be fenced off for years and families denied access to pay respects to their family members? A search of Manchester records via Ancestry turns up 14,246 burial records for this cemetery, which includes 22 Owen and 17 Oakes burials.

Is there no solution to this?

What happens to the grave markers & remains if the property is sold to a developer? Can a cemetery actually become a Tesco or a Walmart in England? Cemeteries here in Canada are civic property or licensed by the government and while individual cemeteries can become full and no longer allow new burials I'm not aware of one ever 'closing' and locking the gates.

There must be a plot map somewhere! I would happily pay someone to hop the fence to take photos of specific markers and place flowers - but first, they need a map. 

If anyone can provide insight or has any suggestions you can post here or email me at michael -at- vancouvercoast -.- com. Sorry if I sound frustrated, but I've read this entire thread and it goes back 4 years now. The only positive info was the recent posts about the grass being cut.

Cheers from across the pond.

[BrittishDutchKY]

http://www.writinglives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/st-lukes-church-be-791x1024.jpg

Found this image from a 2015 visitor.  Some graves are visible, legible.

[uk2003]

http://www.writinglives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/st-lukes-church-be-791x1024.jpg

Found this image from a 2015 visitor.  Some graves are visible, legible.

Sorry to inform you but that photo was taken 30/12/1897 and is from the Manchester Images website and not a 2015 visitor

[uk2003]

BrittishDutchKY  -  Sadly this is what it looks like now and had done for many years

[AnthonyRichmond]

St Luke's, Cheetham Hill

I have just found this post about St Luke's, Cheetham Hill. Like many, I have walked past the church ruins and been frustrated that it has been locked up. I only live about 5 minutes from St Luke's, so I was always interested in finding out more information.

In January 2024, I got access to the site after meeting with the new director of Heritage Trust North West (HTNW). We have had two cleanup efforts so far, with help from Manchester City Council and local volunteers. We want to try and organize monthly cleanup sessions, i think we have one for August,i was there myself the other week doing a bit of a cleanup as well.

I am now the local keyholder and have had to let a couple of people in to try and find the graves of their family members. As you may be able to see from photos, the structure is not safe, which is why it was fenced off some time ago. If the church was open for anyone to walk in and a part of it were to fall on someone, or they have a fall etc, you can imagine that would be a legal nightmare!

I have created a Facebook page for St Luke's and will post any updates on the work we are doing. Slowly, but surely, we are making progress. There is a video of me talking briefly when we had photos taken for Heritage Trust North West.

https://www.facebook.com/StLukesCheethamHill

Like many others, I want the church grounds to be open at some point so that people can enjoy it and access the graves to visit their loved ones. If I can be of any help, please feel free to drop me a message via the Facebook page and will try my best to help.

I know there was a grave plan uploaded on FindMyGrave from a survey done back in 1995.

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2485496/st-luke's-churchyard/photo