A group of squatters has been evicted from a church in Deptford after residing on the premises for more than two years.
St Luke’s Church in Deptford was taken over by squatters in 2023, turning the premises into a residence for its members, while taking care of maintenance duties such as floor and roof restoration, hosting soup kitchens, as well as regular counter-cultural cinema and music events.
As new talks come to remodel the premises, the group, while facing eviction, hosted an event on 25 September with local punk acts, a ‘take-what-you-need’ free shop, a selection of anarchist reading materials, and a pop-up kitchen.
All residents elected to remain anonymous out of fear of legal prosecution, and distrust of the media.
One resident of the site said: “We’re the only ones who have given a s**t about this place.
“The church have made it clear they want nothing to do with us, the Bishop never visited us once despite all his hoo-ha about us.
“How can they be so mad at what we’re doing – wasn’t it Jesus who fed the 5000 fish or whatever?
“Now there’s all these plans or talks of building expensive as f**k flats here, and we’re getting kicked out; it’s like they’re evicting God.”
Speaking to a member of the public present at one of the group’s events, they said: “It’s a really nice community of people who show up to these things.”
“It’s not just here, there’s D.I.Y shows just like this all around London – I’ve been coming for years now.
“You see all sorts at these shows; I’ve seen 16-year-olds and 60-year-olds moshing together.
“It’s often the same crowd so you come down, see your mates, have a lot of cheap drinks and a dance – it’s good fun.”
The church was first constructed in 1870-72, and has an imposing presence on Evelyn Street, with a distinctive ‘circular apse’ and turret adjoining the East Tower of the building, making it notable part of local character.
It’s namesake, Saint Luke the Evangelist, is considered the patron saint of artists.
According to the Church Urban Fund, St Luke’s is within the top 15% for most deprived of parishes in the United Kingdom.
In a statement given to the South East Londoner, the office for the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, said: “In 2015, it became clear that St Luke’s church building had become unsafe and could no longer be used for worship. We closed and secured the site.
“In May 2024 we became aware that trespassers had moved into the space and were using the building’s water and electricity supply, at significant cost to the local community that comprises the church – and had reconnected the electricity supply without our knowledge.
“We worked positively and respectfully with those occupying the building, but they did not vacate the premises when they had agreed to, and we were left with no option but to take legal action to remove them.
“We are particularly concerned for their safety and wellbeing because the building cannot be occupied safely and is infested with pigeons.
“We wish them well and hope that they have found new, safe and lawful accommodation. No decision has yet been taken as to the future of the site.”
A proposal has been made for the remodelling of the site by Tim Gough Architecture, to turn the premises into a dual-function church and block of flats.
A former-squatter at St Luke’s, electing to go by ‘Squid’ in a phone interview with the SE Londoner, said: “It’s become part of a usual cycle for us.
“Pick a place that’s been left unattended, move in, send out signals on all the usual channels, fix the place up, argue with the police – a lot – until the days comes when you get evicted and move on.
“A lot of us are trans-folks, queer-anarchists, anyone who just felt they didn’t fit the mould any more or had to get out of like a bad home situation.
“Finding new places isn’t actually that bad; just go to an anarchist bookshop or something, and they’ll have workshops for it.
“It actually makes me so frustrated when I see people ganging up on us in the media – like it’s London, what about all the empty mansions being left to rot?”
A 2025 article from the SW Londoner found that in 2024, almost 40,000 properties across London had been left vacant for six months or longer.
Featured image credit: Steven Craven
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