St. Luke’s Chapel

Formerly the church of the Radcliffe Hospital, the chapel is now deconsecrated following the extensive redevelopment of that area.  Situated on the stunning Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, it now forms part of the University’s ‘Conference Oxford’ portfolio and is available to hire internally (within the University) as a small venue for meetings, receptions, small exhibitions and dinners.

Despite its diminutive size, it contains an impressive number of beautiful pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows, but their view in several instances is inhibited by the redevelopment of the chapel.  Additionally, access is far from perfect and on a subsequent visit I will need to attempt to engage the services of the University IT Support who have exclusive access to a mezzanine level (akin to an organ loft) that would provide a preferred vantage point.  Currently both images below are for reference only, the results of minimal editing.

The east window is incredibly elaborate, consisting of 15 lights depicting ten individual scenes from the bible.  Sadly this is backed by a protective mesh that detracts significantly from the visual impact of the window.  On this preliminary visit I captured the window in a single frame, but realise retrospectively that it will be better represented by photographing some of the individual scenes.

The west window is a magnificent rose, but the bottom is obscured by the mezzanine level.  Access to that level will allow the capture of the full window, but I am wary that such photograph would have to be taken with a very wide angle lens aligned precisely with the centre of the rose.