WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



LIVERPOOL 



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.*" 



The German Evangelical Church occupies New- 

 ington 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 1 8 3 i , 

 and were considered as attached to the Established 

 Church."'^ 



Wesleyan Methodism made itself felt by the middle 

 of the 1 8 th century. Pitt Street chapel was built in 

 1750,™ 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,*™ and Cranmer Chapel at the north 

 end in 1857.°'' 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.^' Leeds 

 Street Chapel, of some note in its day, was opened 

 about 1798 and pulled down in 1840.^*' Formerly, 

 from 1 8 1 1 to 1 864, the chapel in Benn's Gardens was 

 also used by Welsh-speaking Wesleyans.'" Trinity 

 Chapel, Grove Street, erected in 1859, is the head 

 of a regular circuit ; the conference was held here in 

 1 88 1. The Wesleyans have also mission rooms. 



The Wesleyan Methodist Association, later the 

 United Methodist Free Church, had a chapel in 

 Pleasant Street before 1 844, now St. Columba's ; it 

 was replaced in 1 852 by Salem Chapel or St. Clement's 

 Church, in Russell Street,'*' 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.'" The Welshrspeaking members used a chapel 

 in Gill Street from 1845 to 1867.*^ 



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.'" 

 They had also a chapel in Bevington Hill. Both 

 have long been given up.*" The Primitive Metho- 

 dists also had formerly meeting-places in Liverpool.'" 



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.*" 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.'" Myrtle 

 Street Chapel, the successor of one in Lime Street, 

 built in 1803, was opened in 1844 and enlarged in 

 1859.'" In 1 8 19 a chapel was built in Great Cross- 

 hall Street.'" Soho Street Chapel, begun for ' Bishop 

 West,' was used by Baptists from 1837 to 1889, 

 when Jubilee Drive Chapel replaced it.'^' The 

 Welsh-speaking Baptists had a chapel in Ormond 

 Street, dating from 1 799, but it has been given up, 

 one in Everton succeeding it.°" 



The Sandemanians or Glassites long had a meeting- 

 place in the town.'" 



Newington Chapel was in 1776 erected by Con- 

 gregationalists dissatisfied with the Unitarianism of 

 the Toxteth Chapel, and wishing to have a place 

 of worship nearer to Liverpool."' It was given up 

 in 1872, and is now the German Church. A youth- 

 ful preacher, Thomas Spencer, attracting great con- 

 gregations, a new chapel was begun for him in 1 8 1 1 

 in Great George Street ; he was drowned before it 

 was finished, ^'^ and Dr. Thomas Raffles, who was its 



8^7 The Reformed Presbyterian Church 

 or Covenanters had a meeting-place in 

 Hunter Street in 1852, afterwards moving 

 to Shaw Street, Everton ; see Tram. Hist. 

 Sec. ii, 73, 230. 



8*8 Ibid, iv, 174; V, 49. 



9S9 Ibid. V, 46. 



*™ In Mount Pleasant ; afterwards 

 called the Central Hall. 



s'l 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. 



*'^ 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. 



8<» Tram. Hist. Soc. T, 47. The chapel 

 in Great Homer Street, Everton, re- 

 placed it. 



8«< Ibid. T, 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). 



866 For the history of this building, 

 occupied by preaching adventurers and 

 different denominations, including the 

 Swedenborgians, see Tram. Hist, Soc. 7, 

 33-7- 



867 The same body has a preaching 

 place in Bostock Street. In 1852 it had 

 one in Bispham Street. 



868 Tram. Hist. Soc. (new sen), vii, 322. 



869 Tram. Hist. Soc. v, 50. They had 

 previously had Maguire Street, Cockspur 

 Street, and other places, 43, 40. 



870 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. 



871 Tram. Hist. Soc. v, 42, 44. One in 

 Rathbone Street was maintained until 

 about 1885. It seems to have belonged 

 to the Independent Methodists. 



87» Tram. 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. 



878 Ibid. V, 23 5 services were discon- 

 tinued from 1846 to 1850 on account of 

 its purchase by the London and North 

 Western Railway Company. 



874 Ibid, v, 26 ; the stricter Calvinists 

 separated about 1800 from the Byrom 

 Street congregation. 



875 Ibid. V, 49 ; the Particular Baptists, 

 who had had Stanley Street Chapel from 

 I 800, succeeded the first congregation, and 

 moved in 1847 to Shaw Street. The Welsh 

 Baptists had it in 1853 and 1864. The 

 buUding has ceased to be used for worship. 



49 



Other places are known to have been 

 used at various times by Baptist congre- 

 gations ; 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. 



^'^ 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. 



877 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. 



'*''* For details see Truns, Hist. Soc. 

 (new ser.), vii, 321. The places were 

 Matthew Street, and then Gill Street ta 

 about 1845. 



'^^^ For the history of these buildings 

 see Trans. Hist. Soc. v, 3-9 ; and Night- 

 ingale's Lanes. Nonconformity, vi, 1 20 on. 



sao See his Life by Dr. Raffles (Liver- 

 pool, 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 th* 

 Dingle, 5 Aug. 181 1. 



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