WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



LIVERPOOL 



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 neigh- 

 bourhood deprived the church of its congregation, 

 and falling into a dangerous condition, it was closed 

 by the corporation in 1900.°°' 



St. Anne's, also erected under the authority of 

 Parliament,"" 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 expecta- 

 tion, as it was said, that he would live only a short 

 time, until the son of the Duchess of AthoU, sove- 

 reign of the Isle, should be old enough ; he lived 

 thirty y^ars longer, surviving his intended successor.'" 

 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.*" 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."' 



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 corpora- 

 tion.«" 



Trinity Church, St. Anne Street, was erected by 

 private subscription in 1792.°" In the same year a 

 Baptist Chapel in Byrom Street was purchased and 

 opened as St. Stephen's Church."' This was taken 

 down in 1 871 in order to allow the street to be 

 widened, the corporation building the present church 

 further north. In 1 795 the English Presbyterian 



or Unitarian Chapel in Key Street was purchased for 

 the Established worship, being named St. Matthew's. 

 It was consecrated in 1 798. The site being required 

 in 1 848 for the Exchange railway station, the Lan- 

 cashire and Yorkshire Company purchased a Scotch 

 Presbyterian Chapel in Scotland Road, which was 

 thereupon consecrated as St. Matthew's."' 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 i848."» 



Christ Church, Hunter Street, was built in 1797 

 by John Houghton."' 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 1 800.'"° 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 ; *" the projector was the Rev. 

 Thomas Jones, of Bolton, who died suddenly on a 

 journey to London before the opening.'^' St. An- 

 drew's, Renshaw Street, was erected by Sir John 

 Gladstone in 1815 ;™ the site being required for the 

 enlargement of the Central Station, a new St. An- 

 drew'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 1 8 1 6 and afterwards 

 regulated by an Act of Parliament.'" It was sold in 

 1882, the Salvation Army acquiring it, and a new 

 St. Philip's built in Shell Road.'" 



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 

 1 8 1 1 , but not completed and opened till 1 8 3 1 ; '" 

 it is a florid specimen of perpendicular Gothic, the 

 chancel being a copy of the Beauchamp Chapel, War- 

 wick.'" St. Michael's, Pitt Street, in the Corinthian 

 style, but with a lofty spire, was begun in 1 8 1 6 under 

 Acts of Parliament,'^' and opened in 1826. There is 

 a large graveyard around it. 



The chapel of the Blind Asylum was built in 1 8 1 9 



s"' It is proposed to abolish the in- 

 cumbency and sell the site. 



'"• 12 Geo. Ill, 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. 

 II. 



»" Church Congress Guide, 1904. This 

 contains much information as to the pre- 

 sent condition of the churches, of which 

 use has been made. 



813 Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 139. It had 

 been called the Octagon. It is mentioned 

 in Brooke's Liverpool as it ivas. 



"' Tram. 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 re- 

 named St. Clement's, until 1817. The 

 curious history of the latter building is 

 given in the essay in Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 3 3. 



'>< An effort was made in 1885 to se- 



cure 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. 



8" 32 Geo. Ill, cap. 76. 



815 Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 178. A district 

 was assigned to it under St. Martin's 

 Church Act, lo Geo. IV. 



817 Ibid, iv, 143. The old building 

 was demolished in 1849. -^ district was 

 assigned under St. Martin's Church Act. 



818 Ibid, iv, 166. The incumbent and 

 sole proprietor, the Rev. Robert Ban- 

 nister, was the most popular minister of 

 the time locally ; he died in 1829. Some 

 singular occurrences in the church's his- 

 tory are related in the essay referred to. 

 It does not seem to have been licensed 

 until 1833. 



818 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 twenty- 

 four pews. The upper gallery was free, 

 for the poor. The view from the cupola 

 was in 1 8 12 recommended to the Stranger 

 in Liverpool, 



47 



^20 39 & 40 Geo, III, cap. io6 — *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 incum- 

 bency, and sell the church and site. 



821 56 Geo. Ill, cap. 65 ; amended by 

 2 & 3 Vict. cap. 33. It is now proposed to 

 extinguish the incumbency and sell the 

 church and site. 



8^ Stranger in Liverpool. 



8^ St, Mary's, an oratory or cemetery 

 chapel in Mulberry Street, now disused, 

 was consecrated about the same time. 



824 I Geo. IV, cap. z.. 



825 xhe old church seems to have been 

 consecrated in 18 16, though this is 

 questioned. 



826 An Act was obtained in 1822; 3 

 Geo. IV, cap. 1 9 ; also 2 & 3 Vict. cap. 3 3 . 



827 The cost was over ^^44,000 ; the 

 architect was John Foster. 



828 54 Geo. Ill, cap. ii i ; 4 Geo. IV, 

 cap. 89 ; 2 & 3 Vict. cap. 33. * The 

 parish authorities, after spending ^^3 5,000 

 upon it, handed it over to the corpora- 

 tion, who finished it at an additional cost of 

 ^50,000,' More than a third of the seats 

 were free. 



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