In my post of February 9th., I listed some of the fine churches that had disappeared. Many were demolished for housing or other developments but quite a number succumbed to vandalism and fire. Whether the destruction of St Catherine’s Church in Abercromby Square was vandalism or redevelopment is a matter of opinion. The whole integrity of the square was quite incredibly broken up by no less a body than the University of Liverpool in their drive for expansion. Street after street of Georgian housing was removed to allow for their vision of a modern campus and John Foster’s classical church of 1829 unfortunately stood in the way. At least until 1966, when it was reduced to a pile of rubble.
The Church of St Chrysostom might strike a chord with those familiar with Liverpool churches. The church of St John the Divine in Fairfield (its prominent steeple is a landmark as you travel along Edge Lane) was by the same, somewhat eccentric architect, W. Raffles Brown. His rather peculiar take on Gothic was regarded as muddled and inaccurate by The Ecclesiologist but W Herdman, at least, was impressed enough to include it his magnificent volume Modern Liverpool, writing that, ‘when we look back forty or fifty years, and see the enormous cost of such abortions at St Mark’s, St Mary’s, Edghe Hill, St Anne’s and others and compare the results with the neat elegance as the one before us at a cost very much less, it must be admitted that some advance has been made in the essentials of church architecture.’ A familiar story of changing tastes over a couple of generations. Built in 1853, St Chrysostom, which stood in Audley Street, Everton, was destroyed by fire in 1972.
The rapid expansion of Liverpool in the late 18th and early 19th century saw the wealthier merchants and professionals move eastwards from the city centre, taking possession of the new housing being built around Rodney Street. Naturally, where there were people, there were churches and in a very small area (probably little more than a square kilometre) the different denominations built their places of worship: St Andrew’s on Rodney Street, the Church for the Blind and St Philip’s on Hardman Street, St Catharine (Abercromby Square) and St Mark’s on Duke Street to name but five. Of these, only St Andrew’s survives, although in a desperate state. Two other churches are featured here, both photographed in 1875:
Myrtle Street Baptist Church
The church stood on the corner of Hope Street and Myrtle Street, on a corner site which is now a car park (facing the Philharmonic pub). A Nonconformist church, it had as its preacher Hugh Stowell Brown, who was so popular that the church had to be expanded to seat his growing congregation (Howell Brown conducted the funeral of John Hulley – see earlier post re. Liverpool Olympics). The church itself was greatly admired although James Picton was a bit sniffy about its style of architecture: ‘not up to the demands of the age in ecclesiastical structures.’ Design by WH Gee and opened in 1844. It did not see its centenary and was demolished just before the Second World War. The stone clad building to the right has recently been demolished.
Catholic Apostolic Church, Catharine Street
Many people reading this blog will have seen the shell of this church, which was finally pulled down in the mid-1990s and replaced by a block of flats. It stood on the corner of Catharine Street and Canning Street and was a building that stood out from its brick built neighbours (what I presume was the prebytery still survives and looks somewhat out of place clad in rather unsympathic stone). Picton again was critical of the church’s external dimensions but the church had a fine interior by all accounts.
William and George Audsley have not been treated well in Liverpool. Amongst the most respected Victorian church architects, their two remaining Liverpool churches, Christ Church in Kensington and the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Princes Road, are in shocking condition. Possibly their finest work was St Margaret on the corner of Belmont Road and West Derby Road, seen above photographed in 1875 shortly after consecration in 1873. Pevsner, considered it ‘very powerful’ and its interior was widely praised for its detailing and decoration. The church burned down in 1961 and was replaced by the present green roofed church.
Checking through my notes, I found a list I had made of some of the churches demolished in a six year period – from 1970 to 1976. It makes dismal reading. I always though that the 1960s was the most destructive period for Liverpool’s heritage but perhaps need to reassess the scale of damage during the 1970s (which included the Sailors’ Home and numerous fine commercial buildings).
Chinese Church, Princes Avenue. Demolished 1973 after fire.
Prince’s Gate Baptist Church (1879-81 by Henry Sumners). Demolished 1974.
All Saints, Bentley Road. Demolished 1974.
St Cuthbert, Robson Street, demolished 1970 after fire.
St Chad’s Everton. Demolished 1973.
St Paul’s, Princes Park. Demolished 1976.
St Anne’s, St Anne’s Street. Demolished 1970.
St Timothy, Rokeby Street. Demolished 1970.
Methodist Capel, Great Homer Street. Demolished after fire 1974.
Welsh Methodist Chapel, Shaw Street. Demolished after fire 1974.
St Chrysostom, Queens Road. (1854 by Raffles Brown). Destroyed by fire 1972.
St Benedict, Heyworth Street (‘exceptionally good’ by Aldridge & Deacon 1887). Demolished 1976.
St John, Breck Road. Demolished 1972.
St Philip, Sheil Road. Demolished 1973?
St Domingo Methodist, Breckfield Road. Demolished 1972
St Philemon, Windsor Street. Demolished 1976
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Princes Road. Demolished 1974.
St Saviour, Upper Huskisson Street. Demolished for abandoned road scheme 1970.
Unitarian Church, Hamilton Road. Demolished 1972.
Back in 2001, I published The Churches of Liverpool. Written by David Lewis, it was a record of many of the city’s churches, past and present. I was not completely happy about the book; it was in the early days of digital photography and some of the images were bitmapped but, more inexcusably, the book lacked an index, which made navigation particularly annoying. That said, the book did present a topic well worthy of further work. The incredible explosion of church building in the nineteenth century was fuelled by a religious fervour created by the turbulence of the effects of industrialisation, scientific discovery and social uncertainty of the times. If Liverpool had a pub on every corner, it also had a church in every street, or so it seemed. These ranged from the simple mission ‘hut’ to the fully blown high gothic masterwork.
Of course many fine examples have survived but others fell victim to declining congregations, fire, war and civic replanning. Churches are, unfortunately, difficult to adapt to other uses without destroying their integrity and it is difficult to argue that, for most, they had outlived their use and could not be kept in a satisfactory condition without huge sums being spent on their maintenance.
Over the next few weeks, I will post some examples of what I consider to be the most important losses, starting with this fine photograph of St George’s Church in 1875. Designed by Thomas Steer, the dock architect, and consecrated in 1726, it was considered the most handsome church in Liverpool. Built on the site of Liverpool Castle, the church fell out of popularity in the late nineteenth century and closed in 1897, to be demolished two years later. The, to me, ugly and unexceptional statue of Queen Victoria now occupies the site – a very poor ’swap’ for what would today be a beautiful building in a landmark position .