Liverpool: Churches

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

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'Liverpool: Churches', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, (London, 1911) pp. 43-52. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp43-52 [accessed 17 March 2024]

CHURCHES

The erection of a chapel at Liverpool was probably contemporaneous with the foundation of the borough; burgages 'next to the chapel' are mentioned in a charter of the middle of the 13th century. (fn. 1) The building is identified with the chapel of St. Mary del Key (or Quay) which was standing, 'a great piece of antiquity,' used as the free school, in 1673. (fn. 2) It was a chapel of ease to Walton, and without any permanent endowment.

In or before 1356 there was built, perhaps at the cost of the town, the larger chapel of Our Lady and St. Nicholas, which then became the chapel of Liverpool. In the year named the king allowed the mayor and commonalty to devote lands of the value of £10 a year to the maintenance of divine service in the chapel according to an agreement they had made with Henry, Duke of Lancaster, (fn. 3) who himself gave an allowance of 12s. a year to the chapel. (fn. 4)

In September 1361 the Bishop of Lichfield granted a licence for burials in the churchyard, during a visitation of plague; (fn. 5) and in the following February he gave permission for the chapel and cemetery of St. Nicholas of Liverpool to be consecrated 'by any Catholic bishop having the grace of the Apostolic See and faculties for his office.' (fn. 6) Shortly afterwards William de Liverpool gave a rent of 6s. 8d. towards the stipend of the chaplain, as long as the chantry should continue. (fn. 7) The chantry referred to was probably that at the altar of St. John, founded by John de Liverpool to celebrate for the souls of his ancestors, the priest of which was nominated by the mayor and burgesses. (fn. 8) Another ancient chantry was that of St. Mary at the high altar, (fn. 9) founded by Henry, Duke of Lancaster; (fn. 10) while the succeeding duke, John of Gaunt, founded one at the altar of St. Nicholas. (fn. 11) There were thus three priests in residence serving the chantries from the latter part of the 14th century down to the Reformation.

Further endowments were acquired from time to time; (fn. 12) and in 1459 the Bishop of Lichfield granted an indulgence of forty days on the usual conditions to contributors to the restoration of the old chapel of St. Mary del Key and to the maintenance of a chaplain there and of its ornaments, or to those who should devoutly pray before her image. (fn. 13) This ancient chapel continued in use until the Reformation, for John Crosse in 1515 made a bequest to 'the priest that sings afore our Lady of the Key.' (fn. 14) The same benefactor established the chantry of St. Katherine, the priest of which was also to 'teach and keep a grammar school.' (fn. 15) By this means the endowed staff was raised to four priests. A house was provided for them, with a garden adjoining. (fn. 16) The church, consisting of a nave and a chancel of about equal lengths, with a tower at the west end, a south porch, and an aisle on the north side, (fn. 17) had four or five altars—the high altar, St. Nicholas's (perhaps the same), St. John's, St. Katherine's, and the Rood altar. (fn. 18) The chapel of St. Mary of the Key, which was a separate building standing on the river bank, a little to the west of St. Nicholas's, also had its altar. (fn. 19) There is no means of deciding how many priests and clerks were employed, but the size of the chancel indicates a considerable staff.

The suppression of the chantries and the change of religion made a great difference. St. Nicholas's chapel continued to be used, and one of the old chantry priests, John Hurdes, was placed in charge in 1548; he appeared at the visitation in 1554, but not in 1562. (fn. 20) At the abolition of the ancient services in 1559 it is uncertain what took place at Liverpool; (fn. 21) Vane Thomasson was curate in 1563, (fn. 22) and next year the Crown allowed the old stipend of one of the chantry priests for the payment of a minister to be nominated by the burgesses. (fn. 23) In 1590 the minister was 'a preacher,' (fn. 24) and the corporation afterwards took pains to secure a preacher or an additional lecturer. (fn. 25)

In 1650 the Commonwealth surveyors found that the Committee of Plundered Ministers had assigned to the curate of Liverpool all the tithes of the township and £10 from the rectory of Walton; the duchy rent of £4 15s. was also paid to him; the curate had, on the other hand, by the committee's order, to pay £11 10s. to the wife of Dr. Clare, the ejected rector of Walton. (fn. 26) Shortly afterwards, in 1658, Liverpool was made an independent parish, (fn. 27) but on the Restoration this Act was adjudged to be null, and St. Nicholas's became once more a chapel under Walton. The following is a list of the curates:—

c. 1563 Vane Thomasson (fn. 28)
oc. 1577 James Seddon (fn. 29)
1585 James Martindale (fn. 30)
oc. 1590 Hugh Janion (fn. 31)
1596 — Bentley (fn. 32)
1598 Thomas Wainwright (fn. 33)
? 1625 Edwin Lappage (fn. 34)
c. 1634 Henry Shaw (fn. 35)
1643 Joseph Thompson (fn. 36)
1645 John Fogg (fn. 37)
1662 John Leigh (fn. 38)
1670 Robert Hunter (fn. 39)
1688 William Atherton (fn. 40)
Robert Stythe

Liverpool had by this time become so important that the governing body thought they might claim full parochial rights for the township. (fn. 41) After negotiations with the rector and vicar of Walton, and the patron, Lord Molyneux, an Act of Parliament was procured 'to enable the town of Liverpool to build a church and endow the same, and for making the same town and liberties thereof a parish of itself, distinct from Walton.' (fn. 42) Two joint rectors were appointed, the first being the two curates then ministering, and it was directed that £110 should be levied from the parishioners for each of them. (fn. 43) The church built under this Act was St. Peter's in Church Street, consecrated in 1704, which has since been regarded as the principal church of the parish, and was therefore appointed the pro-cathedral in 1880. It is a plain building with wide round-headed windows, consisting of a chancel with vestries, nave, and west tower. Its chief merit lies in the woodwork, and it preserves its galleries on three sides of the nave, the general arrangement of the seating having been but little altered since its first building. (fn. 44) It is to be demolished as soon as part of the new cathedral is in use.

Gladstone. Argent a savage's head wreathed with holly and distilling drops of blood proper within a flowered orle gules all with an orle of martlets sable.

The patronage was vested in the mayor and aldermen, such as had been aldermen or bailiffs' peers, and the common council. In 1836 the reformed corporation sold the patronage to John Stewart, and about the same time provision was made for the union of the two rectories. (fn. 45) From the Stewarts the patronage was purchased in 1890 by the late W. E. Gladstone, whose son, the Rev. Stephen E. Gladstone, now holds it. (fn. 46) There is no rectoryhouse, but the gross value of the benefice is stated as £1,600 a year, largely derived from fees. (fn. 47)

The following is a list of the rectors:—

I
1699 Robert Stythe, B. A. (fn. 48)
1714–17 vacant, owing to a dispute. (fn. 49)
1717 Thomas Bell, M.A. (fn. 50)
1726 John Stanley, D.D. (fn. 51)
1750 Robert Brereton
1784 George Hodson, M.A. (fn. 52)
1794 Samuel Renshaw, M.A. (fn. 53)
1829 Jonathan Brooks, M.A. (fn. 54)
II
1699 William Atherton, B.A. (fn. 55)
1706 Henry Richmond, B.A. (fn. 56)
1721 Thomas Baldwin, M.A. (fn. 57)
1753 Henry Wolstenholme, M.A. (fn. 58)
1772 Thomas Maddock, M.A. (fn. 59)
1783 Thomas Dannett (fn. 60)
1796 Robert Hankinson Roughsedge, M.A. (fn. 61)
1829 Augustus Campbell, M.A. (sole rector, 1855) (fn. 62)
1870 Alexander Stewart, M.A. (fn. 63)
1904 John Augustine Kempthorne, M.A. (fn. 64)

St. George's Church, for which an Act of Parliament was obtained in 1715, (fn. 65) was begun in 1726 on the site of the castle; it was completed in 1734. 'It had originally an elegant terrace, supported by rustic arches, on one side; these arches the frequenters of Red Cross market used to occupy.' (fn. 66) The church was rebuilt piecemeal between 1819 and 1825, and its new spire was reduced in height in 1833; in its time it was regarded as 'one of the handsomest in the kingdom.' It was the property of the corporation and maintained by them, the mayor and the judges of assize at one time attending it. On Mr. Charles Mozley, who was a Jew, being elected mayor in 1863, the incumbent preached a sermon denouncing the choice, and from that time the mayor and corporation ceased to attend St. George's. The building having long failed to attract a congregation was closed in 1897 and then demolished, the site being acquired by the corporation. (fn. 67)

St. Thomas's, Park Lane, was built in 1750 under the provisions of an Act of Parliament. (fn. 68) 'The land was given by Mr. John Skill, who, however, afterwards charged three times the value of the ground for the churchyard when it was required.' (fn. 69) A very tall and slender spire was a feature of the exterior; after various accidents it was taken down in 1822, and the present miniature dome replaced it. A large part of the churchyard was acquired by the corporation about 1885 for a new thoroughfare. (fn. 70)

St. Paul's, one of the corporation churches, was begun in 1763 in accordance with an Act obtained the previous year, (fn. 71) and opened in 1769. Its chief feature is a dome; internally this had the result of rendering the minister's voice inaudible. In time this defect was remedied, but changes in the neighbourhood deprived the church of its congregation, and falling into a dangerous condition, it was closed by the corporation in 1900. (fn. 72)

St. Anne's, also erected under the authority of Parliament, (fn. 73) was built by two private gentlemen in 1772; it was 'chiefly in the Gothic style.' The first minister, the Rev. Claudius Crigan, was appointed to the see of Sodor and Man in 1783, in the expectation, as it was said, that he would live only a short time, until the son of the Duchess of Atholl, sovereign of the Isle, should be old enough; he lived thirty years longer, surviving his intended successor. (fn. 74) The old church was removed a little eastward to enable Cazneau Street to go through to St. Anne Street, the corporation replacing it by the present church, consecrated in 1871.

In 1776 a Nonconformist chapel in Temple Court was purchased by the rector of Aughton and opened in connexion with the Established Church. In 1820, some time after his death, it was purchased by the corporation and demolished. (fn. 75) In 1776 also another Nonconformist chapel, in Harrington Street, was opened as St. Mary's in connexion with the Established Church; the congregation is supposed to have acquired St. Matthew's, in Key Street, in 1795, after which St. Mary's was demolished. (fn. 76)

St. John's, like St. Paul's, was built under the auspices of the corporation, and consecrated in 1785: the style was the spurious Gothic of the time. There was a large public burial ground attached, consecrated in 1767. Becoming unserviceable as a church, there being but a scanty congregation, it was closed in 1898, demolished, and the site sold to the corporation. (fn. 77)

Trinity Church, St. Anne Street, was erected by private subscription in 1792. (fn. 78) In the same year a Baptist Chapel in Byrom Street was purchased and opened as St. Stephen's Church. (fn. 79) This was taken down in 1871 in order to allow the street to be widened, the corporation building the present church further north. In 1795 the English Presbyterian or Unitarian Chapel in Key Street was purchased for the Established worship, being named St. Matthew's. It was consecrated in 1798. The site being required in 1848 for the Exchange railway station, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company purchased a Scotch Presbyterian Chapel in Scotland Road, which was thereupon consecrated as St. Matthew's. (fn. 80) In 1798 a tennis court in Grosvenor Street was converted into a place of worship and licensed for service as All Saints' Church. It continued in use until the present church of All Saints', Great Nelson Street, was built in 1848. (fn. 81)

Christ Church, Hunter Street, was built in 1797 by John Houghton. (fn. 82) It was intended to use an amended version of the Book of Common Prayer, but the design proving a failure, the church was 'put on the establishment,' and consecrated in 1800. (fn. 83) Originally there was a second or upper gallery, close to the roof, but this was taken away about 1865.

St. Mark's was built by subscription in 1803, and consecrated in 1815, becoming established by an Act of Parliament; (fn. 84) the projector was the Rev. Thomas Jones, of Bolton, who died suddenly on a journey to London before the opening. (fn. 85) St. Andrew's, Renshaw Street, was erected by Sir John Gladstone in 1815; (fn. 86) the site being required for the enlargement of the Central Station, a new St. Andrew's was built in Toxteth in 1893. St. Philip's, Hardman Street, was one of the 'iron churches' of the time; it was opened in 1816 and afterwards regulated by an Act of Parliament. (fn. 87) It was sold in 1882, the Salvation Army acquiring it, and a new St. Philip's built in Shell Road. (fn. 88)

More costly churches were about the same time designed and slowly carried out by the public authorities. St. Luke's, Bold Street, was begun in 1811, but not completed and opened till 1831; (fn. 89) it is a florid specimen of perpendicular Gothic, the chancel being a copy of the Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick. (fn. 90) St. Michael's, Pitt Street, in the Corinthian style, but with a lofty spire, was begun in 1816 under Acts of Parliament, (fn. 91) and opened in 1826. There is a large graveyard around it.

The chapel of the Blind Asylum was built in 1819 in Hotham Street in imitation of the Temple of Jupiter at Ægina. The site being required for Lime Street Station, the building was taken down and carefully re-erected in its present position in Hardman Street in 1850. (fn. 92) It is the Liverpool home of Broad Church doctrine.

St. David's, for Welsh-speaking Anglicans, was built in 1827. (fn. 93) As far back as 1793 Welsh services had been authorized in St. Paul's Church. (fn. 94) Another special church was the Mariners' Church, an old sloop-of-war moored in George's Dock. It was used from 1827, but ultimately sank at its moorings in 1872. (fn. 95)

St. Martin's in the Fields, a Gothic building with a western spire, was erected out of a Parliamentary grant in 1829, the land being a gift by Edward Houghton. (fn. 96) It was the first Liverpool church to be affected by the Tractarian movement. (fn. 97)

St. Catherine's, Abercromby Square, was consecrated in January 1831, (fn. 98) a fortnight after St. Bride's. (fn. 99) The first church of St. Matthias was built in 1833–4 in Love Lane, but the site being required by the railway company, the present church in Great Howard Street was built in 1848; the old one was accidentally destroyed by fire. (fn. 100) St. Saviour's, Falkner Square, was built by subscription in 1839; it was burnt down in 1900 and rebuilt in 1901 on the old plan. (fn. 101) In 1841 a congregation which had for some five years met in the chapel in Sir Thomas's Buildings, which they called St. Simon's, acquired a chapel previously used by Presbyterians and Independents, and this was consecrated as St. Simon's. (fn. 102) The site being required for Lime Street Station, a new church was in 1848 built close by, (fn. 103) and this was taken down and rebuilt in its present position in 1866–72, on an enlargement of the station.

A building in Hope Street, erected about fifteen years earlier for the meetings of the 'Christian Society,' and in 1838 occupied by the Rev. Robert Aitken, an Anglican minister who adopted 'revivalist' methods, was in 1841 acquired for the Established Church and called St. John the Evangelist's. (fn. 104) It was abandoned in 1853, but under the name of Hope Hall is still used for religious and other meetings. In 1841 also the churches of St. Bartholomew and St. Silas were opened. (fn. 105) St. Alban's, Bevington, dates from 1849–50.

In 1854 Holy Innocents' in Myrtle Street, primarily the chapel of the adjoining orphan asylums, was opened. All Souls', begun in the same year, had as first incumbent Dr. Abraham Hume, one of the founders of the Lancashire and Cheshire Historic Society. (fn. 106) 'As the population of this parish is mostly Roman Catholic' it is proposed to abandon the building. (fn. 107) A Wesleyan chapel was acquired and in 1858 consecrated as St. Columba's; soon afterwards St. Mary Magdalene's was erected for an object indicated by its dedication; (fn. 108) and more recently St. James the Less' (fn. 109) and St. Titus' (fn. 110) have been built, the former serving to perpetuate the High Church tradition of St. Martin's when this had resumed its old ways. (fn. 111)

The new cathedral is being erected within the township. The Church House in Lord Street provides a central meeting-place and offices for the different societies and committees; it contains a library also.

Scottish Presbyterianism was first represented by the Oldham Street Church, opened in 1793; (fn. 112) St. Andrew's in Rodney Street in 1824; (fn. 113) and Mount Pleasant in 1827. (fn. 114) Others arose about twenty years later: St. George's, Myrtle Street, in 1845; (fn. 115) Canning Street (fn. 116) and Islington in 1846, (fn. 117) and St. Peter's, Silvester Street, in 1849. (fn. 118) Another was built in Vauxhall Road in 1867. Except the first two, which remain connected with the Established Church of Scotland, they are now associated with the Presbyterian Church of England. The formal union which constituted this organization out of many differing ones took place at Liverpool in 1876. (fn. 119)

The German Evangelical Church occupies Newington Chapel, formerly Congregational. It seems to have originated in a body of converted Jews speaking German, who met for worship in the chapel in Sir Thomas' Buildings from about 1831, and were considered as attached to the Established Church. (fn. 120)

Wesleyan Methodism made itself felt by the middle of the 18th century. Pitt Street chapel was built in 1750, (fn. 121) enlarged 1765, rebuilt in 1803, and altered in 1875; John Wesley preached here for a week in 1758. A second chapel within the township was built in 1790, (fn. 122) and Cranmer Chapel at the north end in 1857. (fn. 123) These are now all connected with the Wesleyan Mission, formed in 1875, which has also acquired the old Baptist Chapel in Soho Street, now Wesley Hall, and a mission room near. (fn. 124) Leeds Street Chapel, of some note in its day, was opened about 1798 and pulled down in 1840. (fn. 125) Formerly, from 1811 to 1864, the chapel in Benn's Gardens was also used by Welsh-speaking Wesleyans. (fn. 126) Trinity Chapel, Grove Street, erected in 1859, is the head of a regular circuit; the conference was held here in 1881. The Wesleyans have also mission rooms.

The Wesleyan Methodist Association, later the United Methodist Free Church, had a chapel in Pleasant Street before 1844, now St. Columba's; it was replaced in 1852 by Salem Chapel or St. Clement's Church, in Russell Street, (fn. 127) recently given up, the Pupil Teachers' College now occupying the site. Another chapel in Scotland Road, built in 1843, is still used, as also one in Grove Street, built in 1873. (fn. 128) The Welsh-speaking members used a chapel in Gill Street from 1845 to 1867. (fn. 129)

The Methodist New Connexion, who appeared as early as 1799, had Zion Chapel, Maguire Street, by St. John's Market, before 1813; they removed to Bethesda in Hotham Street about 1833, after which the old building was converted into a fish hall. (fn. 130) They had also a chapel in Bevington Hill. Both have long been given up. (fn. 131) The Primitive Methodists also had formerly meeting-places in Liverpool. (fn. 132)

At the Bishop of Chester's visitations in 1665 and later years Anabaptists were presented, and it was said that conventicles were held. The Baptists, who had from 1707, if not earlier, met in Everton, opened a chapel in Byrom Street in 1722. (fn. 133) A much larger chapel was erected in 1789 in the same street, and the old one sold to the Established Church. The later building is still in use as Byrom Hall. (fn. 134) Myrtle Street Chapel, the successor of one in Lime Street, built in 1803, was opened in 1844 and enlarged in 1859. (fn. 135) In 1819 a chapel was built in Great Crosshall Street. (fn. 136) Soho Street Chapel, begun for 'Bishop West,' was used by Baptists from 1837 to 1889, when Jubilee Drive Chapel replaced it. (fn. 137) The Welsh-speaking Baptists had a chapel in Ormond Street, dating from 1799, but it has been given up, one in Everton succeeding it. (fn. 138)

The Sandemanians or Glassites long had a meeting-place in the town. (fn. 139)

Newington Chapel was in 1776 erected by Congregationalists dissatisfied with the Unitarianism of the Toxteth Chapel, and wishing to have a place of worship nearer to Liverpool. (fn. 140) It was given up in 1872, and is now the German Church. A youthful preacher, Thomas Spencer, attracting great congregations, a new chapel was begun for him in 1811 in Great George Street; he was drowned before it was finished, (fn. 141) and Dr. Thomas Raffles, who was its minister for nearly fifty years, became one of the most influential men in Liverpool. (fn. 142) This chapel was burnt down in 1840, and the present building erected. Seceders from All Saints' Church in 1800 met for worship in Maguire Street and Cockspur Street, and in 1803 built Bethesda Chapel in Hotham Street; from this they moved in 1837 to Everton Crescent. (fn. 143)

Burlington Street Chapel was bought as an extension by the Crescent congregation in 1859; about 1890 it was weakened by a division, most of the congregation assembling in Albert Hall for worship; this is now recognized as a Congregational meeting, but Burlington Street was worked for a time as a mission by the Huyton Church. (fn. 144)

The Welsh Congregationalists have a chapel in Grove Street, in place of Salem Chapel, Brownlow Hill, (fn. 145) given up in 1868. Formerly they had one in Great Crosshall Street, built in 1817, but the congregation has migrated to Kirkdale and Everton.

In Elizabeth Street is a United Free Gospel Church, built in 1871 to replace one of 1845 as an Independent Methodist Church.

The Calvinistic Methodists, the most powerful church in Wales, are naturally represented in Liverpool, where Welshmen are very numerous. The first chapel was built in Pall Mall in 1787, and rebuilt in 1816, but demolished to make way for the enlargement of Exchange Station in 1878, a new one in Crosshall Street taking its place. (fn. 146) There are others in Chatham Street and Catherine Street built in 1861 and 1872 respectively; at the latter the services are in English.

The Society of Friends had a meeting-place in Hackins Hey as early as 1706, by Quakers' Alley; this remained standing until 1863. The place of meeting was removed to Hunter Street in 1790; this continues in use. (fn. 147)

The Moravians held services 'for many years' in the Religious Tract Society's rooms.

The Berean Universalist Church was opened in 1851 in Crown Street, but had only a short existence. (fn. 148)

The Bethel Union, an undenominational evangelistic association for the benefit of sailors, maintains several places of worship near the docks. (fn. 149)

The Young Men's Christian Association has a large institute in Mount Pleasant, opened in 1877.

It has been shown above that Nonconformity was strong in the town after 1662. A chapel was built in Castle Hey, and the minister of Toxteth Park is said to have preached there on alternate Sundays from 1689. (fn. 150) This was replaced by Benn's Gardens Chapel in 1727, from which the congregation, which had become Unitarian, moved to Renshaw Street in 1811, and from this recently to Ullet Road, Toxteth. Another Protestant Nonconformist chapel was built in Key Street in 1707; in this case also the congregation became Unitarian. (fn. 151) A new chapel in Paradise Street replaced it in 1791, and a removal to Hope Street was made in 1849, the abandoned building being turned by its new owners into a theatre. The Octagon Chapel in Temple Court was used from 1762 to 1776 to meet a desire for liturgical services, the organ being used; but it proved a failure and was sold to the Rev. W. Plumbe, Rector of Aughton, who preached in it as St. Catherine's. The Unitarians have a mission room in Bond Street. (fn. 152)

The Christadelphians formerly (1868–78) had a meeting-place in Gill Street.

The Catholic Apostolic Church (Irvingite) was built in 1856. The choir is a rich specimen of flamboyant Gothic.

The ancient religion appears to have been stamped out very quickly in Liverpool, which became a decidedly Protestant town, and there is scarcely even an incidental allusion to its existence (fn. 153) until the beginning of the 18th century. Spellow and Aigburth were the nearest places at which mass could occasionally be heard in secret. Fr. William Gilli brand, S.J., who then lived at Little Crosby, in 1701 received £3 from Mr. Eccleston 'for helping at Liverpool.' (fn. 154) The first resident missioner known was Fr. Francis Mannock, S.J., who was living here in 1710; and the work continued in the hands of the Jesuits until the suppression of the order. The next priest, Fr. John Tempest, better known by his alias of Hardesty, built a house for himself near the Oldhall Street corner of Edmund Street, in which was a room for a chapel. (fn. 155) In 1746, after the retreat of the Young Pretender, the populace, relieved of its fears, went to this little chapel, made a bonfire of the benches and woodwork, and pulled the house down. (fn. 156) Henry Pippard, a merchant of the town, who married Miss Blundell, the heiress of Little Crosby, treated with the mayor and corporation about rebuilding the chapel. This, of course, they could not allow, the law prohibiting the ancient worship under severe penalties, whereupon he said that no one could prevent his building a warehouse. This he did, the upper room being the chapel. (fn. 157) It was wrecked during a serious riot in 1759, but was enlarged in 1797 and continued to be used until St. Mary's, from the designs of A. W. Pugin, was built on the same site and consecrated in 1845. In consequence of the enlargement of Exchange Station it was taken down, but rebuilt in Highfield Street on the same plan and with the same material, being reconsecrated 7 July 1885. The baptismal register commences in 1741. After the suppression of the Jesuit order in 1773 the two priests then in charge continued their labours for ten years, when the Benedictines took charge, and still retain it. (fn. 158)

They at once sought to obtain an additional site at what was then the south end of the town, and in 1788 St. Peter's, Seel Street, was opened. It was enlarged in 1843, and is still served by the same order. (fn. 159) The school in connexion with it was opened in 1817.

About the same time Fr. John Price, an ex-Jesuit, was ministering at his house in Chorley Street (1777), and by and by (1788) built the chapel in Sir Thomas's buildings, which was used till his death in 1813. (fn. 160) It was then closed, as St. Nicholas' was ready, work having been commenced in 1808, and the church opened in 1812. (fn. 161) Since 1850 it has been used as the cathedral. At the north end of the town St. Anthony's had been established in 1804; the present church, on an adjacent site, dates from 1833, and has a burial ground. (fn. 162) St. Joseph's in Grosvenor Street was opened in 1846, a new building being completed in 1878. (fn. 163)

These buildings (fn. 164) sufficed till the great immigration of poor Irish peasants, driven from home by the famine of 1847. St. Vincent de Paul's mission had been begun in a room over a stable in 1843, but after interruption by the fever of 1847 a larger room in Norfolk Street was secured in 1848, and served until in 1857 the present church was erected. Holy Cross was begun in 1848 in a room over a cowhouse in Standish Street, and in 1850 was given to the care of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who are still in charge. The church was built in 1860, and the chancel opened in 1875. St. Augustine's, Great Howard Street, was an offshoot in 1849 from St. Mary's, and is still in charge of the Benedictines.

Later came St. Philip Neri's Oratory near Mount Pleasant, 1853. All Souls', in Collingwood Street, was erected in 1870 by the efforts of a Protestant merchant, who was anxious to provide a remedy for the horrible scenes at wakes; the middle aisle of the church was for the bodies of the departed to lie in previous to interment, and was quite cut off from the aisles where the congregation assembled, by glass partitions. This has recently been changed. St. Bridget's, Bevington Hill, was also opened in 1870, and rebuilt in 1894. St. Sylvester's in Silvester Street began with schools in 1872; at the beginning of 1875 a wooden building was erected adjacent, continuing in use until 1889, when the present permanent church was opened.

There are two convents: Notre Dame, at the training college, Mount Pleasant, 1856; and St. Catherine, Eldon Place, 1896.

The followers of Emmanuel Swedenborg have long had a place of meeting in Liverpool, where they had been known from 1795. (fn. 165) The present building, New Jerusalem, in Bedford Street, was opened in 1857.

The Mormons have an institute. (fn. 166)

The Jews have had a recognized meeting-place since about 1750. The earliest known was at the foot of Matthew Street; it had a burial place attached; afterwards Turton Court, near the Custom House, and Frederick Street were places of Jewish worship. (fn. 167) The synagogue in Seel Street was built in 1807, the congregation migrating to Princes Road in 1874. A disused Presbyterian church in Islington has recently (1908) been purchased and reopened as the Central Synagogue. The Hope Place Synagogue of the New Hebrew Congregation was built in 1856. (fn. 168)

Footnotes

  • 1. Most of the information relating to this ancient chapel is derived from an essay by Mr. John Elton in Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xviii, 73–118, and the documents there printed. Randle del Moore of Liverpool, who occurs from 1246 onwards, granted to Margery his daughter and John Gernet half a burgage next to the chapel; Moore D. no. 264 (1). In the same deeds 'the Chapel street' is mentioned in 1318 (ibid. no. 331 [71]), in a grant by John son of Alan de Liverpool, to which John del Moore was a witness. Liverpool was named as a chapelry in 1327 at the ordination of the vicarage of Walton; Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 191.
  • 2. Blome, Britannia (quoted by Picton).
  • 3. Elton, op. cit. 80, quoting Pat. 29 Edw. III. The rents were to be paid 'to certain chaplains to celebrate divine service every day, for the souls of all the faithful departed, in the chapel of Blessed Mary and St. Nicholas of Liverpool, according to the order of the mayor and commonalty.' The sum of £10 may include the endowments of the two chantries of John de Liverpool and Henry Duke of Lancaster.
  • 4. Elton, op. cit. 79, quoting a rent roll of 1395.
  • 5. Ibid. 83, from Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 44.
  • 6. Ibid. 82, from Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 45. Facsimiles of this and the preceding entry are given.
  • 7. Elton, op. cit. 86, from Moore D. no. 466 (183), dated 6 Sept. 1361.
  • 8. William de Liverpool's phrase, 'as may be ordained by the mayor and commonalty,' agrees with the above-quoted licence of Edward III, and with the condition of the chantry in 1548; Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc.), 82. At this date the priest (John Hurdes) did 'sing and celebrate there according to the statutes of his foundation'; the plate and ornaments were scanty; the rents, derived, as were those of the remaining chantries, from burgages, houses, and lands in Liverpool, amounted to 105s. 1d. In 1534 the cantarist was Thomas Rowley, and the net revenue was 73s. 4d.; the founders' names were recorded as John de Liverpool and John del Moore; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 221. It was the duty of the priest of the altar of St. John to say mass daily between five and six in the morning, so that all labourers and well-disposed people might come to hear it; Picton, Munic. Rec. i, 31.
  • 9. Raines, op. cit. 86. Ralph Howorth was the incumbent in 1548, 'celebrating accordingly,' 'with the chalice and other ornaments pertaining to the inhabitants of the same town'; the gross income was 115s. 11d., a chief rent of 2s. 3d. being paid to the king's bailiff of West Derby. Richard Frodsham was cantarist in 1534, when the revenue was £4 7s. 11d.; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), loc. cit.
  • 10. Duchy of Lanc. Auditors' Accts. bdle. 728, no. 11987.
  • 11. Raines, op. cit. 89. Richard Frodsham was in 1548 'the priest remaining and celebrating there according to his foundation'; there were chalice, two sets of vestments, and missal, and an endowment of 114s. 5d. Ralph Howorth was cantarist in 1534, when the income was 75s. 11d., the foundation being ascribed to Henry and John, Dukes of Lancaster; Valor Eccl. loc. cit. Probably there has been some transposition of the names of the incumbents of these chantries.
  • 12. See Elton, op. cit. 86, 88.
  • 13. Lich. Epis. Reg. xii, fol. 124b. It is described as 'the chapel of Blessed Mary within the cemetery of the chapel of the town of Liverpool.'
  • 14. Church Goods, 1552 (Chet. Soc.), 98.
  • 15. Raines, Chantries, 84; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 221. Humphrey Crosse was the incumbent in 1534 and 1548, celebrating for the souls of his founder and heirs, with a yearly obit at which 3s. 4d. was distributed to the poor, and teaching the grammar school. The endowment amounted to £4 15s. 10d. For a dispute concerning this foundation see Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 156. John Crosse's will is printed in full in Church Goods, 97, 98.
  • 16. Raines, op. cit. 85. An account of the chantry lands after the confiscation is given by Elton, op. cit. 97, 98; see also Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), iii, 165; and Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 348–50. The ornaments of the chapel in 1552 are detailed in Church Goods, 96.
  • 17. A south elevation is given in Enfield's Liverpool. The spire and the upper story of the tower were additions to the original building. Perry's plan of 1769 shows that there were then two aisles on the north side, but one of these had been built in 1697, with an addition in 1718; Picton, Memorials, ii, 58. The principal changes were: A west-end gallery, erected in 1681; an organ, provided in 1684; the boarded ceiling, painted and starred in 1688; the churchyard wall on the east and south, built in 1690; a spire, built in 1745; the churchyard extended in 1749; a new organ procured in 1764; and in 1774 the whole body of the church was rebuilt in its present form, the interior, which must have been very irregular, being entirely transformed, and the exterior walls being made uniform; ibid. ii, 57–9. The following is Enfield's description of the old building: 'In its structure there is no appearance of magnificence or elegance. The body of the church within is dark and low; it is irregularly though decently pewed; it has lately been ornamented with an organ. The walls have been repaired and supported by large buttresses of different colours and forms, and a spire has been added to the tower'; Liverpool, 41. The Corporation arranged the order of precedence in the pews; Munic. Rec. i, 103, 210, 329. The old peal having been reduced to a single bell, three more were ordered in 1628, but were not satisfactory, and changes were made in 1636 and 1649; Munic. Rec. i, 211, 212. A new peal was procured in 1725, the number being increased to six. Their ringing brought about the ruin of the tower. The present peal consists of twelve bells, cast in 1813; an account of them will be found in Mr. Henry Peet's Inventory of the Parish Churches of Liverpool. Mr. Peet has kindly given other information respecting the churches. A clock was set up in 1622, on the motion of the curate; Munic. Rec. i, 212. Notes of the arms in the windows, taken in 1590, have been printed in Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxii, 253, with an account of Captain Ackers, by Mr. J. P. Rylands. After the fall of the tower and spire on 11 Feb. 1810, the present tower with its open lantern-spire was built. It stands at the centre of the west end, instead of at the south-west corner like the former one. The church now retains no traces of antiquity, being in a dull modern Gothic style, and is chiefly interesting for the many monuments of 18th and 19thcentury date. The spire is, however, a creditable piece of work for its date.
  • 18. St. Katherine's altar is mentioned in 1464; Munic. Rec. i, 23.
  • 19. This building, ceasing to be used for divine worship, was purchased by the corporation, apparently for 20s.; it became the town's warehouse, but later was used as the schoolhouse, and so continued until the 18th century, when it was demolished; Elton, op. cit. 103, 112–18. At the west end of this chapel was an image of St. Nicholas, 'to whom seafaring men paid offerings and vows'; see Blome, op. cit. and Pal. Note-book, iii, 119.
  • 20. The corporation seem to have continued to hold and regulate the chapel; Elton, op. cit. 99–104. Many details will be found in Picton's Munic. Rec. The clerk, Sir John Janson, in 1551 went away to Spain; one Nicholas Smith was clerk in 1555; Elton, op. cit. 100, 104.
  • 21. The priest in charge, Evan Nicholson, appointed in or before 1555, was still there in 1559, but does not appear in the Visitation List of 1562; Munic. Rec. i, 97.
  • 22. Visitation List. It is possible that Vane (Vanus) Thomasson was the Evan Nicholson of 1555. In 1564 Master Vane Thomasson, curate of Liverpool, and one of the wardens appeared before the Bishop of Chester, and were enjoined to 'charge the people that they use no beads'; the curate was to minister the sacrament and sacramentals according to the Book of Common Prayer; Erasmus's Paraphrase must be procured; and 'all manner of idolatry and superstition' was to be immediately 'abolished and utterly extirpated'; Raines, op. cit. 92, quoting the Liber Correct. at Chester.
  • 23. Elton, op. cit. 104. The amount allowed was £4 17s. 5d. a year.
  • 24. Lydiate Hall, 249; quoting S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, 4.
  • 25. In 1591 the mayor and burgesses paid £4 to 'Mr. Carter the preacher,' in consideration of 'his great good zeal and pains' in his 'often diligent preaching of God's word amongst us more than he is bound to do, but only of his mere good will'; Picton, Munic. Rec. i, 102. In 1621 a stipend of £30 a year was promised to 'Mr. Swift to be a preacher here'; in 1622 James Hyatt, afterwards vicar of Childwall and Croston, was appointed; and in 1629 an arrangement was made with clergy of the neighbourhood to preach week-day sermons; ibid. i, 197, 198, 200. The authorities were in the 17th century inclined to the stricter Puritan side, as this insistence on preaching suggests; but in 1602 the portmoot inquest presented the curate 'for not wearing his surplice according to the King's injunctions'; and in 1610 it was 'agreed' that he should wear it 'every Sabbath and every holiday at the time of Divine service.' The clerk also was to wear one; ibid. i, 102, 196. Laud's reforms apparently did not reach Liverpool. In 1623 it was ordered by the corporation that, as the place where the first and second lessons were usually read was 'more convenient for the reading of Common Prayer than the place in the chancel where it hath formerly been read, in respect the same place is in the middle of the same church and in full audience and view of the whole congregation,' the whole service should be read there; ibid. i, 198. In 1687 Bishop Cartwright had to command the churchwarden to 'set the communion table altarwise against the wall'; Pal. Note-book, iii, 124.
  • 26. Commonwealth Church Survey (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 84; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 1.
  • 27. Plund. Mins. Accts. ii, 215, 224.
  • 28. Visitation Lists of 1563, 1564; name crossed out in 1565.
  • 29. Picton, Munic. Rec. i, 97.
  • 30. Ibid. 98.
  • 31. Ibid. He was also vicar of St. John's, Chester. He died in 1596; p. 97.
  • 32. Ibid. 97, 98. He could not endure the interference of the mayor and council, and only remained two years. He is called 'Mr.,' and was therefore a graduate of some university.
  • 33. Ibid. 98. He was also appointed schoolmaster, 'until God send us some sufficient learned man.' He was only a 'reading minister,' as might be inferred from this; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 13. Accordingly in 1616 the mayor and burgesses considered 'the providing of a preacher to live within the town'; Munic. Rec. i, 196. He contributed £1 to the clerical subsidy of 1622; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 65. In 1609 he appears to have had an assistant named Webster; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxii, 298. The will of Thomas Wainwright, dated 26 June 1625, and proved in the following October, shows that he had a small library, including commentaries, Perkins on the Creed, and Synopsis Papismi; these two books he left to Thomas son of his half-brother Godfrey Wainwright. To Mr. Hyatt he left Fulke upon the Rhemish Testament, on condition that he preached the funeral sermon. To John Moore of Bank Hall he left his watch. He also mentions his sisters, Ellen Okell and Cecily Blinston, and other relatives. He desired to be buried 'within the chapel of Our Lady and St. Nicholas under the Communion table there.'
  • 34. Munic. Rec. i, 199. He is described as 'minister and preacher.'
  • 35. He contributed to subsidies 1634 to 1639; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 94, 122. He may have been the Henry Shaw who was, in 1649, minister of St. John's, Chester; Plund. Mins. Accts. i, 208. One Henry Shaw, of Brasenose College, Oxford, took the M.A. degree in 1629; Foster, Alumni. In 1633 the corporation ordered 'that there shall be morning prayer as formerly hath been'; also that the clerk should, if possible, be ordained deacon, in which case his wages should be raised by 6s. 8d.; Munic. Rec. i, 201.
  • 36. Picton's Liverpool, i, 92. In 1644 the Corporation provided a second minister, Mr. David Ellison; Munic. Rec. i, 202. Thompson was shortly afterwards placed in the rectory of Sefton.
  • 37. Ibid. i, 203. He was son of Lawrence Fogg of Bolton, educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; M.A. 1646; Foster, Alumni. He signed the 'Harmonious Consent' in 1648. Refusing to take the engagement, he had to abandon his charge in 1651, Peter Stananought (afterwards of Aughton) and Michael Briscowe being appointed. Shortly afterwards John Fogg was reinstated, and remained at Liverpool until he was ejected for Nonconformity in 1662; he then retired to Great Budworth; Picton, Liverpool, i, 105. In 1650 he was described as 'an able, godly minister'; Commonwealth Ch. Surv. 84.
  • 38. Munic. Rec. i, 322. The appointment was made by the corporation, as on previous occasions; but the rector of Walton after some time endeavoured to obtain the patronage. In this he was defeated; ibid. i, 322–3.
  • 39. Ibid. i, 323. He was described as 'reverend, learned, and laborious'; ibid. i, 324. He had been incumbent of Knutsford and Macclesfield; Earwaker, East Ches. ii, 505. In 1681 an assistant curate was appointed to read morning prayers daily (except Sundays and holidays).
  • 40. It was considered, on Mr. Hunter's death, that two ministers should be appointed, to do equal duty and receive equal wages, and both to reside in the town; ibid. i, 324. It appears that they also served the chapel of West Derby.
  • 41. Munic. Rec. i, 324–6.
  • 42. 10 and 11 Will. III, cap. 36. The rectors were to divide the duty and the surplice fees. The tithes of the township, on the then rector of Walton's death, were to go to the corporation, in relief of the assessment for the rectors' stipend. The rectors of Liverpool were to pay one-sixth of the tenths and other ecclesiastical dues levied upon the parish of Walton. Lord Molyneux's interest was indirect, the separation of Liverpool from Walton rendering his right of patronage of the latter rectory somewhat less valuable. In 1786 an Act was passed 'for augmenting and ascertaining the income of the rectors'; 26 Geo. III, cap. 15.
  • 43. Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 190–3; Picton, Munic. Rec. ii, 86.
  • 44. The building has never excited any admiration. There is a peal of ten bells, added in 1830. In 1715 John Fells, a sea captain, gave £30 towards the expense of forming a library in this church; a list of the books is printed in Mr. Peet's Inventory, 25–52. This work contains an inventory of the plate, &c., and a full list of the parish registers, with a reprint of the earliest volume (1661–73), also a list of the churchwardens from 1551. The church was used for a series of musical festivals, commencing in 1766; Picton, Liverpool, ii, 155.
  • 45. 1 & 2 Vict. cap. 98.
  • 46. Information of the patron.
  • 47. Dioc. Calendar.
  • 48. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; B.A. 1680; ordained deacon and priest by the Bishop of Chester in 1680 and 1682; master of the Free School at Liverpool, 1684. Held the rectory of Garstang for twelve months (1697–8), apparently as a 'warming pan.' He is regarded as co-founder, with Bryan Blundell, of the Blue-coat School, Liverpool. He died in Dec. 1713. See H. Fishwick, Garstang (Chet. Soc.), 185.
  • 49. a Picton, Munic. Rec. ii, 68.
  • 50. Educated at Pembroke College, Oxford; M.A. 1698; Foster, Alumni.
  • 51. Son of Sir Edward Stanley of Bickerstaffe; Fellow of Sidney-Sussex College, Cambridge; rector of Winwick 1740 to 1742, and 1764 to 1781; also rector of Bury 1743 to 1778.
  • 52. Son of the Rev. George Hodson, curate of West Kirby; educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; M.A. 1763; died 14 Apr. 1794; Foster, Alumni; Manchester School Reg. i, 53.
  • 53. Son of John Renshaw of Liverpool; educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; M.A. 1775; died 19 Oct. 1829, nine days after the other rector, Mr. Roughsedge; Foster, Alumni. He published a volume of sermons in 1792.
  • 54. He belonged to a mercantile family in Liverpool, being son of Joseph Brooks, Everton. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge; M.A. 1802; Archdeacon of Liverpool, 1848. He died 29 Sept. 1855. 'Few men have enjoyed in their day and generation more general respect than fell to the lot of Archdeacon Brooks. Of a dignified and noble presence, his manners were genial, courteous, and, with perfect truth it may be said, those of a gentleman. When presiding at vestry meetings in the stormy times of contested Church rates, when occasionally very strong language was indulged in, a quiet, pleasant remark from the "old rector" would calm the troubled waters and frequently cause all parties to laugh at their own violence. . . . His great popularity led to the erection of a memorial statue in St. George's Hall, by B. Spence'; Picton's Liverpool, ii, 136, 367, 349.
  • 55. Ordained deacon and priest by the Bishop of Chester in 1678 and 1679 repectively. Ancestor of the Athertons of Walton. A William Atherton of Lancashire entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1674, and graduated as B.A. in 1677; information of Mr. J. B. Peace, bursar of the college.
  • 56. Son of Sylvester Richmond, a Liverpool physician; educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; B.A. 1695. He was rector of Garstang from 1698 till 1712; he was buried in St. Nicholas' Church; see Fishwick, Garstang, 186.
  • 57. Son of John Baldwin, Alderman of Wigan; educated at Jesus College, Cambridge; M.A. 1709. In 1748 he purchased the advowsons of North Meols and Leyland; his son John became rector of the former parish, and himself (1748–52) and his son Thomas were successively vicars of Leyland. He was a councillor of Liverpool from 1733 to 1748. See Farrer, North Meols, 84; Baines, Lancs. (ed. Croston), iv, 166.
  • 58. Author of two volumes of sermons.
  • 59. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; B.A. 1735; Foster, Alumni. For his sons see Manchester School Reg. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 23. See Gilbert Wakefield's Memoirs.
  • 60. Chosen by a majority of the mayor and council.
  • 61. Son of Edward Roughseage of Liverpool; educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; M.A. 1771. He died 10 Oct. 1829; Foster, Alumni.
  • 62. Also vicar of Childwall, 1824–70.
  • 63. Educated at Clare College, Cambridge; M.A. 1852. Vicar of Cogges, Oxfordshire, 1868–70; Hon. Canon of Liverpool, 1880.
  • 64. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge; M.A. 1890. Vicar of St. Mary's, Rochdale, 1895; of St. Thomas's, Sunderland, 1900; Rector of Gateshead, 1901; Hon. Canon of Liverpool, 1905.
  • 65. 1 Geo. I, cap. 21.
  • 66. Stranger in Liverpool. From this guide, of which there were many editions, much of the information in the text is derived. At one end of the 'terrace' was the office of the clerk of the market; at the other that of the night watch. There was a vault beneath the church for interments. The interior fittings were good. The east window had a picture of the Crucifixion, inserted in 1832. There were originally two ministers, the chaplain and the lecturer, and the appointment was usually a stepping-stone to the rectory; D. Thom in Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 161. This essay on the changes and migrations of churches was continued in vol. V, and illustrated with views of the older buildings.
  • 67. An effort was made to retain the spire. There is an account of this church and St. John's by Mr. Henry Peet in Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xv, 27–44.
  • 68. 21 Geo. II, cap. 24.
  • 69. Stranger in Liverpool.
  • 70. The Bishop of Liverpool's commission in 1902 recommended that the incumbency be extinguished at the next vacancy, the district to be annexed to St. Michael's, Pitt Street.
  • 71. 2 Geo. III, cap. 68; the same Act authorized St. John's Church. There were formerly two incumbents at St. Paul's.
  • 72. It is proposed to abolish the incumbency and sell the site.
  • 73. 12 Geo. III, cap. 36. The church was remarkable for being placed north and south. It stood on the line of Cazneau Street between Rose Place and Great Richmond Street. A part of the ground remains open. A district was assigned to it under St. Martin's Church Act, 10 Geo. IV, cap. 11.
  • 74. Church Congress Guide, 1904. This contains much information as to the present condition of the churches, of which use has been made.
  • 75. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 139. It had been called the Octagon. It is mentioned in Brooke's Liverpool as it was.
  • 76. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 157. Other 'private adventure' chapels were tried with greater or less success. A Rev. Thomas Pearson opened the Cockspur Street Chapel from 1807 to 1812, calling it St. Andrew's; then he went to Salem Chapel in Russell Street, which he renamed St. Clement's, until 1817. The curious history of the latter building is given in the essay in Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 33.
  • 77. An effort was made in 1885 to secure the site for a cathedral for the newly erected Anglican diocese; but it failed, although an Act of Parliament (48 & 49 Vict. cap. 51) was obtained authorizing the scheme. See Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xv, 27–44.
  • 78. 32 Geo. III, cap. 76.
  • 79. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 178. A district was assigned to it under St. Martin's Church Act, 10 Geo. IV.
  • 80. Ibid. iv, 143. The old building was demolished in 1849. A district was assigned under St. Martin's Church Act.
  • 81. Ibid. iv, 166. The incumbent and sole proprietor, the Rev. Robert Bannister, was the most popular minister of the time locally; he died in 1829. Some singular occurrences in the church's history are related in the essay referred to. It does not seem to have been licensed until 1833.
  • 82. A small burial ground was attached, and a vault was constructed below the church. The endowment was £105 a year, derived from the rents of twentyfour pews. The upper gallery was free, for the poor. The view from the cupola was in 1812 recommended to the Stranger in Liverpool.
  • 83. 39 & 40 Geo. III, cap. 106—'for establishing a new church or chapel (Christ's), lately erected on the south side of Hunter Street'; Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 167. It is proposed to extinguish the incumbency, and sell the church and site.
  • 84. 56 Geo. III, cap. 65; amended by 2 & 3 Vict. cap. 33. It is now proposed to extinguish the incumbency and sell the church and site.
  • 85. Stranger in Liverpool.
  • 86. St. Mary's, an oratory or cemetery chapel in Mulberry Street, now disused, was consecrated about the same time.
  • 87. 1 Geo. IV, cap. 2.
  • 88. The old church seems to have been consecrated in 1816, though this is questioned.
  • 89. An Act was obtained in 1822; 3 Geo. IV, cap. 19; also 2 & 3 Vict. cap. 33.
  • 90. The cost was over £44,000; the architect was John Foster.
  • 91. 54 Geo. III, cap. III; 4 Geo. IV, cap. 89; 2 & 3 Vict. cap. 33. 'The parish authorities, after spending £35,000 upon it, handed it over to the corporation, who finished it at an additional cost of £50,000.' More than a third of the seats were free.
  • 92. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 153; 10 Geo. IV, cap. 15.
  • 93. 7 Geo. IV, cap. 51.
  • 94. This was supposed to be the first instance of the kind in England; the corporation allowed an additional £60 salary on account of it; Stranger in Liverpool. The services were still held in 1852.
  • 95. The vessel was the Tees, and was presented by the government to the Mariners' Church Society, formed in 1826.
  • 96. Out of two millions voted £20,000 was spent on this church. The Act 10 Geo. IV, cap. 11, vested it in the mayor and burgesses, and made provision for the division of the parish into districts.
  • 97. Church Congress Guide.
  • 98. It exhibited 'the Grecian style in its purity and perfection,' according to the opinion of the time. A district was given by a special local Act, 10 Geo. IV, cap. 51.
  • 99. A district was assigned to it under St. Martin's Church Act. For its endowment an Act was passed, 1 & 2 Will. IV, cap. 49.
  • 100. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 159.
  • 101. A district was assigned to it under St. Martin's Act, and it was consecrated in 1854. One of the incumbents, the Rev. John Wareing Bardsley, was promoted to the bishopric of Sodor and Man in 1887 and of Carlisle in 1892; he died in 1904.
  • 102. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 155. The site was above the centre of the present Lime Street Station.
  • 103. In St. Vincent's Street.
  • 104. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 182.
  • 105. They were consecrated in 1841 and 1843 respectively.
  • 106. Dr. Hume considered that only an endowed church could minister to the needs of the poorer districts, and pointed to the regular migration of Nonconformist chapels from the poorer to the richer districts, i.e. the building followed the congregation. All Souls' appears to have been built to illustrate his theories. He remained its incumbent until his death in 1884. See Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 107. Church Congress Guide.
  • 108. Districts were assigned under St. Martin's Church Act, 10 Geo. IV. St. Mary Magdalene's was built in 1859 and consecrated in 1862.
  • 109. Opened January 1863; consecrated, 1873.
  • 110. Built in 1864 and consecrated in 1865. It is proposed to extinguish the incumbency and dispose of the site.
  • 111. The patronage of many of the new churches is in the hands of trustees. The Crown and the Bishop of Liverpool present alternately to All Saints', All Souls', St. Alban's, and St. Simon's; the Bishop alone to Holy Innocents'; the Bishop, Archdeacon, and Rector of Liverpool jointly to St. Mary Magdalene's; the Archdeacon and Rector of Liverpool and the Rector of Walton to St. Titus's; the Rector of Liverpool to St. Matthew's, St. Matthias's, and St. Stephen's. Mr. H. D. Horsfall has the patronage of St. Paul's. The incumbent of St. David's, the Welsh church, is appointed by trustees jointly with the communicants.
  • 112. Previously, it is said, they worshipped with the Unitarians, who still retained their old title of Presbyterians in consequence of the legal penalties attaching to a denial of the Trinity. Oldham Street Church was built by a combination of shareholders or proprietors, among them being (Sir) John Gladstone. In 1792 the Scotch Presbyterians used Cockspur Street Chapel, previously the Liverpool cockpit; Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 38, where an account of the many uses of the building may be seen.
  • 113. A full account of the Scottish churches in Liverpool, by Dr. David Thom, may be seen in Trans. Hist. Soc. ii, 69, 229.
  • 114. This was built by the Scotch Seceders, afterwards the United Presbyterians; it replaced a smaller chapel in Gloucester Street, built in 1807—afterwards St. Simon's. The United Presbyterians used a meeting room in Gill Street about 1868.
  • 115. The congregation were seceders from St. Andrew's, Rodney Street, under the influence of the Free Church movement.
  • 116. A secession, under the same influence, from Oldham Street Church.
  • 117. This was connected with the Irish Presbyterians. It is now a Jewish Synagogue.
  • 118. An earlier St. Peter's, built in 1841, in Scotland Road, had to be abandoned owing to the Free Church controversy breaking up the congregation; it is now St. Matthew's; Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 148.
  • 119. The Reformed Presbyterian Church or Covenanters had a meeting-place in Hunter Street in 1852, afterwards moving to Shaw Street, Everton; see Trans. Hist. Soc. ii, 73, 230.
  • 120. Ibid. iv, 174; v, 49.
  • 121. Ibid. v, 46.
  • 122. In Mount Pleasant; afterwards called the Central Hall.
  • 123. Less permanent meeting-places were in Edmund Street, used in 1852, and Benledi Street, in 1863. For the former see Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 49.
  • 124. The head of this mission for many years was the late Rev. Charles Garrett, one of the notable figures in local Methodism. He died in 1900. The site of the Unitarian church in Renshaw Street has been acquired for the Charles Garrett Hall, in connexion with the work he organized.
  • 125. Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 47. The chapel in Great Homer Street, Everton, replaced it.
  • 126. Ibid. v, 51. The chapel in Shaw Street, Everton, took its place. Another meeting-place of Welsh Wesleyans was in Burroughs Garden, which seems to have been replaced by a chapel in Boundary Street East about 1870. Services have also been held in Great Crosshall Street (1871–84) and Hackins Hey (1896).
  • 127. For the history of this building, occupied by preaching adventurers and different denominations, including the Swedenborgians, see Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 33–7.
  • 128. The same body has a preaching place in Bostock Street. In 1852 it had one in Bispham Street.
  • 129. Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), vii, 322.
  • 130. Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 50. They had previously had Maguire Street, Cockspur Street, and other places, 43, 40.
  • 131. Bethesda was given up about 1866; it is represented by a chapel in Everton. The old building was for some time used as a dancing room. Bevington Hill was given up about the same time.
  • 132. Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 42, 44. One in Rathbone Street was maintained until about 1885. It seems to have belonged to the Independent Methodists.
  • 133. Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 178. The first minister, J. Johnson, offended some of his congregation by his doctrines, and a chapel in Stanley Street was in 1747 built for him, where he preached till his death. This congregation migrated to a new chapel in Comus Street in 1800; ibid. v, 51.
  • 134. Ibid. v, 23; services were discontinued from 1846 to 1850 on account of its purchase by the London and North Western Railway Company.
  • 135. Ibid. v, 26; the stricter Calvinists separated about 1800 from the Byrom Street congregation.
  • 136. Ibid. v, 49; the Particular Baptists, who had had Stanley Street Chapel from 1800, succeeded the first congregation, and moved in 1847 to Shaw Street. The Welsh Baptists had it in 1853 and 1864. The building has ceased to be used for worship. Other places are known to have been used at various times by Baptist congregations; ibid. v, 33, 48, 49. Two, in Oil Street and Comus Street, existed in 1824; the latter was still in use in 1870, and seems to have been replaced in 1888 by one at Mile End, now abandoned.
  • 137. Ibid iv, 177. This congregation had sprung from a split in the Byrom Street one in 1826, and had had places of worship in Oil Street and Cockspur Street. A somewhat earlier division (1821) resulted in the Sidney Place Chapel, Edge Hill.
  • 138. This was perhaps the Edmund Street Chapel mentioned in the Directory of 1825; later were the chapels in Great Crosshall Street (already named) and Great Howard Street. The last-named, begun in 1835, was removed to Kirkdale in 1876. A later congregation (1869) met in St. Paul's Square for some years.
  • 139. For details see Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), vii, 321. The places were Matthew Street, and then Gill Street to about 1845.
  • 140. For the history of these buildings see Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 3–9; and Nightingale's Lancs. Nonconformity, vi, 120 on.
  • 141. See his Life by Dr. Raffles (Liverpool, 1813). Thomas Spencer was born at Hertford 21 Jan. 1791; commenced preaching when fifteen years of age; was called to Newington Chapel in Aug. 1810, and after a remarkably successful ministry there, was drowned while bathing at the Dingle, 5 Aug. 1811.
  • 142. His biography was written by his son, Thomas Stamford Raffles, who was for many years the stipendiary magistrate of Liverpool; see also Dict. Nat. Biog. Dr. Raffles was born in London in 1788, clucated at Homerton College, LL.D. Aberdeen 1820, died 18 Aug. 1863, and was buried in the Necropolis.
  • 143. Salem Chapel in Russell Street was used from 1808 to 1812 by seceders from Bethesda.
  • 144. Gloucester Street Chapel was occupied by Congregationalists from 1827 to 1840, when it became St. Simon's Church.
  • 145. Salem Chapel in Brownlow Hill was bought in 1868 by the Crescent congregation, and occupied until 1892. It is now a furniture store.
  • 146. In 1825 they had two chapels, in Pall Mall and Great Crosshall Street; in 1852 they had four, in Prussia Street (i.e. Pall Mall), Rose Place (built 1826), Burlington Street, and Mulberry Street (built 1841). The last-named, having been replaced by the Chatham Street Chapel, was utilized as Turkish baths. Burlington Street seems to have been removed to Cranmer Street, built in 1860, now disused. The Rose Place Chapel was at the corner of Comus Street; it seems to have been disused about 1866, a new one in Fitzclarence Street taking its place.
  • 147. The old meeting-house had a burial ground attached. The building was used as a school from 1796 to 1863, when it was sold and pulled down.
  • 148. Its minister was Dr. David Thom, whose essay on the migration of churches has been frequently quoted in these notes. He had been minister of the Scotch Church in Rodney Street, but seceded; in 1843 he had a congregation in a chapel in Bold Street.
  • 149. The society had a floating mission vessel, the William, in the Salthouse Dock in 1821. Afterwards three buildings on shore were substituted, in Wapping, Bath Street, and Norfolk Street.
  • 150. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 231; the 'new chapel in the Castle Hey in Liverpool' and Toxteth Park Chapel were licensed 'for Samuel Angier and his congregation.' See also Peet, Liverpool in the Reign of Queen Anne, 100. Castle Hey is now called Harrington Street.
  • 151. For the Unitarian churches see Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 9–23, 51; Nightingale, op. cit. vi, 110.
  • 152. Ibid.
  • 153. In the catalogue of burials at the Harkirk in Little Crosby is the following: '1615, May 20. Anne the wife of George Webster of Liverpool (tenant of Mr. Crosse) died a Catholic, and being denied burial at the chapel of Liverpool by the curate there, by the Mayor, and by Mr. Moore, was buried'; Crosby Rec. (Chet. Soc.), 72. The Crosse family did not change their religious profession at once, for in 1628 John Crosse of Liverpool, as a convicted recusant, paid double to the subsidy; Norris D. (B.M.). John Sinnot, an Irishman, who died at his house in Liverpool, had been refused burial on account of his religion in 1613; Crosby Rec. 70. The recusant roll of 1641 contains only five names, four being those of women; Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xiv, 238. In 1669 four 'papist recusants' were presented at the Bishop of Chester's visitation, viz.:—Breres gent., Mary wife of George Brettargh, and William Fazakerley and his wife. In 1683 there were thirty-five persons, including Richard Lathom, presented for being absent from church, and in the following year thirty-nine; Picton's Munic. Rec. i, 330. The revival of presentations was no doubt due to the Protestant and Whig agitation of the time. James II endeavoured to mitigate the effects of it; in 1686, being 'informed that Richard Lathom of Liverpool, chirurgeon, and Judith his wife, who keeps also a boarding-school for the education of youth at Liverpool,' had been presented for 'their exercising the said several vocations without licence, by reason of their religion (being Roman Catholics),' and being assured of their loyalty, he authorized them to continue, remitted penalties incurred, and forbade further interference; ibid. i, 256.
  • 154. Foley's Rec. S. J. v, 320. It may be inferred that some attempt was made to provide regular services, and, of course, that there was a congregation.
  • 155. 'While I lived in the foresaid town I received, one year with another, from the people about one or two and twenty pounds a year, by way of contribution towards my maintenance, and no other subscription was ever made for me or for the buildings. From friends in other places I had part of the money I had built with, but much the greatest part was what I spared, living frugally and as not many would have been content to live. . . . Nor do I regret having spent the best years of my life in serving the poor Catholics of Liverpool;' Letter of Fr. Hardesty in Foley, op. cit. v, 364. Edmund Street at that time was on the very edge of the town. On Palm Sunday 1727 there were 256 palms distributed here; N. Blundell's Diary, 224.
  • 156. Picton's Liverpool, i, 180. An account by Thomas Green, written in 1833, is preserved at St. Francis Xavier's College; his mother witnessed the scene. It was printed in the Xaverian of Feb. 1887, and states: 'The incumbents, the Revs. H. Carpenter and T. Stanley, met the mob, which behaved with the greatest respect to the priests and several of the principal Roman Catholic inhabitants attending there—among the rest, Miss Elizabeth Clifton (afterwards Mrs. Green)—and without noise or violence opened a clear passage for the Rev. Mr. Carpenter to go up to the altar and take the ciborium out of the tabernacle and carry it by the same passage out of the chapel.'
  • 157. Subscriptions were collected for it. The site was at the upper end of Edmund Street. Considerable precautions were taken for its safety. The writer just quoted states that on the street front three dwelling-houses were built, one to serve for the resident priests; at the back was a small court, and then the 'warehouse,' the outside gable of which had the usual teagle rope, block and hook, and wooden cover. The folding doors were, however, bricked up within. He adds the following: 'After 24 September, 1746, when Mr. and Mrs. Green went to their house in Dale Street, while the new chapel was being built, mass was said, Sundays and holidays, in their garrets, the whole of which, as well as the tea and lodging rooms of the two stories underneath, and the stairs, were filled by their acquaintances of different ranks and admitted singly and cautiously through different entrances, wholly by candle light, and without the ringing of a bell at the elevation, &c., but a signal was communicated from one to another. The house adjoining on each side to the dwellings of two very considerable, respectable, and kind neighbours, Presbyterians, and their wives, aunts of the present Nicholas Ashton, esq., of Woolton.'
  • 158. These particulars are from articles in the Liv. Cath. An. for 1887 and 1888, by the Rev. T. E. Gibson, and in the Xaverian of 1887. Among the last Jesuits in charge were Frs. John Price and Raymund Hormasa alias Harris. The former, after the suppression of the society, settled in Liverpool, continuing his ministry as stated in the text. The latter, who was a Spaniard, published a defence of the slave trade in reply to a pamphlet by William Roscoe, issued in 1788, and was cordially thanked by the Common Council. He had in 1783 been deprived of his faculties by the Vicar Apostolic, on account of bitter disputes between him and his colleague at Liverpool over the temporalities of the mission, and he lived in retirement till his death in 1789. On account of the disputes the charge of the mission was given to the Benedictines. A full account of these matters is given in Gillow, Bibl. Dict. of Engl. Cath. iii, 392–5; Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xiii, 162. Harris preached and printed a sermon 'on Catholic Loyalty to the present Government,' noticed in the Gent. Mag. Feb. 1777.
  • 159. Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xiii, 164. Fr. Archibald Macdonald, the founder, engaged in the Ossianic controversy; Dict. Nat. Biog; Gillow, op. cit. iv, 369.
  • 160. It was afterwards used at intervals by a number of religious bodies in turn; then as a warehouse; till a few years ago it was taken down and the school board offices erected on the site.
  • 161. It is rather surprising to find it described in 1844 as 'an elegant building in the Gothic style'; Stranger in Liverpool, 270.
  • 162. In the original building divine service was performed by the 'Rev. Jean Baptiste Antoine Girardot, a French emigrant priest by whom it was erected. M. Girardot was held in high respect for his many virtues and unostentatious mode of living; and besides was much celebrated in this part of the country for numerous cures performed by him in cases of dropsy'; Dr. Thom in Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 32.
  • 163. It had been built on the site of a famous tennis court as an Anglican church, All Saints', in 1798, and closed in 1844.
  • 164. St. Patrick's, erected in 1824, is in Toxteth.
  • 165. They occupied Key Street Chapel from 1791 to 1795. In 1795 Maguire Street Chapel was built for them, but the donor became bankrupt and the place was sold. From 1815 to 1819 the Swedenborgians used Cockspur Street Chapel, from 1819 to 1823 they shared Maguire Street with the Primitive Methodists, and from 1838 to 1852 they occupied Salem Chapel in Russell Street, removing to the Concert Room in Lord Nelson Street until the Bedford Street Church was ready; Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 33, 38, 43.
  • 166. In 1863 their meeting-place was at the corner of Crown Street and Brownlow Hill; later in Islington, and Bittern Street.
  • 167. For fuller accounts see Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 53, and (new ser.), xv, 45–84. There were burial places at Frederick Street and at the corner of Oake and Crown Streets. One of the results of the Jewish settlement in Liverpool was a series of three letters addressed to it by J. Willme of Martinscroft near Warrington, printed in 1756.
  • 168. The congregation had previously met in Pilgrim Street.