A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



1868, when the church was built.' The incumbents 

 of the preceding churches are presented by trustees. 

 St. Aidan's, near the Liverpool boundar)-, was first 

 built in 1 86 1, but removed to its present site in 

 1875, the old one being required for dock purposes. 

 The bishop of Liverpool and the rectors of Liverpool 

 and Walton present.* St. Athanasius's, built in 

 188 1-2, is in the gift of the Simeon trustees.' For 

 Welsh-speaking Anglicans St. Asaph's, Westminster 

 Road, has been licensed as a chapel of ease to St. 

 David's, Liverpool. 



A Free Church of England existed in Kirkdale 

 from 1868 to 1 87 1. 



The Wesleyan Methodists have a church in 

 Rosalind Street, built in 1877; also two in Boundary 

 Street East, one for Welsh-speaking members. The 

 Methodist New Connexion have a mission hall. 

 The United Free Methodists have also a place of 

 worship. 



For the Baptists the Tabernacle was built in 1892. 

 Other chapels are in Stanley Road and near Stanley 

 Park; the latter was built in 1875. For Welsh- 

 speaking Baptists Seion Chapel, built in 1876, 

 originated in Great Howard Street, Liverpool, in 

 1835 to 1840. 



There is a United Free Gospel Chapel in Tetlow 

 Street, begun in i860 and enlarged in 1877. 



The Congregationalists have a church in West- 

 minster Road. A chapel was erected in Claremont 

 Grove in 1829. In 1872 the congregation removed 

 to the present building. The Welsh Chapel in Great 

 Mersey Street originated in 1858, springing from the 

 Liverpool Tabernacle.' 



The Presbyterians have churches in Everton Valley, 

 founded in 1S62, and in Fountains Road (Union 

 Chapel), 1878. That formerly in Derby Road was 

 removed to Bootle in 1887. 



The Salvation Army has barracks in Walton Road 

 and Barlow Street. 



The Roman Catholic faith probably died out soon 

 after the Reformation, the Moores becoming Protestants 

 about 1600, and there being no other resident able to 

 afford the missionary priest a shelter.* A fresh 

 beginning was made in 184.8. Thousands of poor 

 Irish labourers, driven from home by the great famine, 

 came to Liverpool to work at the docks. To minister 

 to them St. Alban's, Athol Street, was opened in 

 1 849 ; it was gradually completed and beautified, and 

 was consecrated in I 894. Our Lady of Reconciliation, 

 Eldon Street, has sprung from a mission begun in a 

 shed in 1S54 ; the church, designed by Welby Pugin, 

 was opened in i860. St. Alexander's, on the borders 

 of Bootle, was founded in 1862, mass being said in a 

 hayloft for some years; in 1867 the church was 

 opened, and enlarged in I 884.^ From 1878 till 1 884 

 a chapel of ease — known as Our Lady of Perpetual 

 Succour — was used. In 1870 the Congregational 



chapel in Claremont Grove (now Fountains Road) 

 was purchased and opened as St. John the Evangelist's ; 

 a permanent church replaced it in 1885. St. 

 Alphonsus' Mission was founded in 1878, a building 

 in Kirkdale Road, formerly a masonic hall, being 

 utilized.' 



The Jews have a synagogue in Fountains Road. 



TOXTETH PARK 



Stochestede, Dom. Bk. ; ' Tokestat, 1207; Toxstake, 

 1228; Tokstad, 1257; Toxstath, 1297; Toxsteth, 



'447- 



This township, which comprises the ancient vill of 

 Smeedon or Smithdown, having been included in the 

 forest, became extra-parochial.' It has from north to 

 south a frontage of 3 miles to the River Mersey, and 

 stretches inland for 2 miles. The ground in the 

 northerly half rises somewhat steeply from the river ; 

 inland there are several undulations, the highest point, 

 at the corner of Smithdown Lane and Lodge Lane, 

 being about 190 ft. The total area is 3,598 acres "of 

 which about half, 1,737 acres, was taken within the 

 borough of Liverpool in 1835, and with the exception 

 of Prince's Park is now quite covered with streets of 

 dwelling houses ; the outer half, with the exception of 

 Sefton Park, containing 387 acres, has, within recent 

 years, fallen largely into the hands of the builder. This 

 portion also was included within the borough of 

 Liverpool in 1895. 



The northern half of the township is densely popu- 

 lated and there are docks and quays along the river 

 front ^vith the severe buildings of numerous factories 

 reared in the background. In the southern half the 

 character of the district changes abruptly, green fields 

 and trees sloping down to the water's edge instead of 

 stone quays and dock gates, and the neighbourhood 

 becomes an important residential suburb, with larger 

 houses set in private grounds. 



The geological formation consists of the new red 

 sandstone or trias, the pebble beds of the bunter 

 series occurring in the centre from the river to 

 Windsor, and again towards Aigburth, with upper 

 mottled sandstones of the same series between, again 

 occurring above the docks, where they intervene 

 between areas of the basement beds of the keuper 

 series. The soil is clay and sand. 



Formerly a brook" rose in the eastern side of 

 Parliament Fields, at the north end of the township, 

 and ran down to the river near the boundary in 

 Parliament Street, being used to turn a water-mill 

 just before it fell into the river. About the middle 

 of the river frontage is a creek called Knot's Hole, 

 and a little farther to the south another creek once 

 received a brook which rose near the centre of the 

 township ; " the Dingle lies around the former creek, 



' LonJ. Gji. 15 Sept. 1868. 



' Ibid. 5 Feb. 1861 ; for endowment 

 28 July, 1863. 



' Ibid. II Jan. 1881 ; for endowment 

 2 June, 1882, 31 March, 1882. 



■* Nightingale, Lanes. Nonconf, vi, 176, 

 226. 



* The recusant roll of 1 626 records only 

 two names in K.irkdale ; Lanes. Lay Sub- 

 sidies, 131/318. 



' Among the church plate is a six- 

 teenth-century chalice formerly owned by 

 Can-11 Lord Molyneujt ; Trans. Hist, Soc. 

 (New Ser.), v, 205. 



' Lmerpool Cath. Ann. 1 90 1. 



8 The initial S does not recur, except 

 very rarely ; StokkestofFe is the spelling 

 in a grant of 1524; Duchy of Lane. 

 Misc. Bks. xxii, 74. 



» It appears that about 1650 the rector 

 of Walton had certain dues in Toxteth ; 

 Flmd. Miru. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, I. 



A century later it was reported that 

 Toxteth Park paid neither church tax nor 

 county rate ; it had a constable and over- 

 seer and went by house row, but was not 



40 



returned by any court but the court-baron 

 of the lord of the manor ; Croxteth D. 



^^ 2,375, including 774 of inland 

 water ; Census. Rep. of 190 1. There are 

 993 acres of tidal water and 263 of fore- 

 shore. 



^1 Probably the ancient Oskell's brook. 

 It is shown in the 1768 map in Enfield's 

 Li'uerpool, and the upper portion appears 

 also on SherrifFs map of 1823. 



1^ This brook passed the east end of 

 St. Michael's Church. The creek, called 

 Dickenson's Dingle in 1823, has been 

 filled up. 



