St Luke's hall-church opened in 1961, at a cost of £11,000, to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding population of Witney. It was located on the Windrush Valley housing estate (known colloquially as "Smiths' Estate" because many of the occupants of the estate worked for the nearby Smiths Motor Accessories), and also offered facilities for a child clinic and a social centre. From 1963 to 1968 it was managed by the Church Army. A drop in numbers attending, together with financial difficulties and disagreements between the parish clergy and the management committee, culminated in the closure of St Luke's in 1983.
The records in this collection were originally deposited at the Bodleian Library by successive rectors of St Mary's, Witney, in 1979 and 1983. The records were originally catalogued in with the St Mary's material; a conspectus of the old references is given at the back of the catalogue.
Recatalogued by Linda Haynes, September 2014.