Bombed-Out Church (St Luke's)

St Luke's, known locally as the Bombed-Out Church, stands at the top of Bold Street on Leece Street in Liverpool, England. The church was designed by John Foster and his son John Foster Jr, built between 1811 and 1832 in a neoclassical-Gothic style, and it was one of the city's most prominent Georgian churches, serving a prosperous merchant congregation. On the night of 5 May 1941, during the May Blitz, incendiary bombs set the roof alight and the fire gutted the interior, leaving only the stone shell and the tower. Because of its position and the symbolism of the ruin, the shell was never rebuilt. It was left as a memorial to the civilians killed in the Liverpool Blitz, which was the heaviest bombing outside London, with the worst raids in the first week of May 1941. The church is Grade II* listed and the stonework is stabilised and maintained by the council and community groups. Today the roofless nave, the sooty walls and the pointed window openings are the principal remains, with grass and gardens within. A memorial to the dead and a peace garden have been added. The gardens host seasonal events, small markets, performances and exhibitions, and the church tower is lit at night. There is no indoor exhibition, so the site is experienced as an open-air monument. It illustrates the damage the city suffered and is a short walk from the Western Approaches Command Bunker, St George's Hall and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Visitors usually need about 15 to 30 minutes, longer when an event is on.