Summary

Anglican church, built in 1903-1904 to the design of the Liverpool architectural practice Willink and Thicknesse in Free Perpendicular Gothic style.

Description

Anglican church. Built 1903-1904 to the design of the Liverpool architectural practice Willink and Thicknesse in Free Perpendicular Gothic style.

MATERIALS: red brick laid in English garden wall bond, yellow terracotta dressings, pan-tiled roofs and a slate-covered timber flèche.

PLAN: a six-bay gabled nave flanked by low passage aisles, a two-bay chancel with a lower gabled roof, apsidal baptistery at the west end of the north aisle, and a west narthex. A vestry and organ chamber flank the chancel at the north and south respectively.

EXTERIOR: the church is situated at the corner of Stanley Road and St Andrew’s Road, Bootle. It is orientated north-east to south-west, aligned with the street grid. (Note: the following description is simplified to the cardinal points; for example, chancel at the east rather than north-east). The west front, facing Stanley Road, has a low five-bay narthex beneath a tall Perpendicular window in the gable end of the nave. At the centre of the narthex is a projecting gabled entrance containing a square-headed doorway beneath a rusticated terracotta tympanum and shallow pointed arch of three moulded orders: outer chamfered, cyma reversa and hollow chamfered. Set within the entrance are timber-boarded double doors with strap hinges. On each side of the doorway are two bays of two-light, cinquefoil-cusped, square-headed windows. The outer bays project forward with stepped and gabled angle buttresses at each corner. A moulded terracotta stringcourse and a red brick parapet with a moulded terracotta coping runs above the windows. The narthex has a flat roof except for the two end bays which are topped by pyramidal caps. The return walls each contain a gabled entrance similar in design to that at the centre of the west front. Towering above the narthex is the west window of the nave; a shallow pointed arched window containing seven multifoil-cusped ogee-headed lights beneath elaborate Perpendicular tracery and a hoodmould. It is flanked by two prominent clasping buttresses. The gable wall is enriched with bands of yellow terracotta and surmounted by a coping with a Celtic cross finial at the apex.

The aisles have paired trefoil-cusped, triangular-headed windows separated by stepped buttresses. Terracotta stringcourses run beneath and above the windows and each aisle is surmounted by a red brick parapet with a moulded terracotta coping. An apsidal baptistery extends from the westernmost bay of the north aisle. The line of the aisle buttresses is continued at clerestory level where gabled buttresses separate the six bays of the nave. There are tall single-light clerestory windows under the shallowest of pointed arches; each window has a cinquefoil-cusped ogee-headed light and an alternating pattern of Perpendicular tracery and trefoils. Surmounting the nave, near the centre of the roof ridge, is a lofty slate-covered timber flèche. The east gable end of the nave matches the west, with cross finial and clasping buttresses.

The chancel is set lower than the nave. It has two bays of pointed single-light windows to the side elevations, matching those of the nave clerestory. In the east gable end is a pointed arched window of five multifoil lights and Perpendicular tracery. Extending from the north side of the chancel is a single-storey vestry of two bays with a projecting pointed arched entrance, square-headed three-light mullioned window and a hipped tile roof. A gabled organ chamber extends from the west end of the south side of the chancel. It has two tiers of openings; a lower two-light window beneath a stepped three-light window, as well as flanking buttresses and a gabled bellcote.

INTERIOR: the narthex has a central entrance porch and two side chambers leading off it through segmental-headed doorways with glazed timber-boarded doors. It is separated from the nave by an arcade of three pointed stone arches infilled with glazed timber double doors; the central doors with side lights and all with transom lights. The nave arcade is of six pointed and chamfered arches resting on triangular piers. Open-backed oak benches with shaped ends occupy the main space; these replaced chairs in 1911. On the north side of the chancel arch is a stone pulpit with a timber balustrade and on the south side is a First World War memorial plaque. The nave has a parquet floor and a ceiled timber barrel-vaulted roof; the ribs supported on hammer beams with braces resting on stone corbels in the wall. A small apsidal baptistery opens off the westernmost bay of the north aisle. It is lit by three stained glass windows and has an octagonal stone font and black ceramic tiled floor. The windows were a memorial to the first vicar of St Andrew’s, Reverend George Jackson (died 1931), and his daughter, Kathleen Moira (died 1928). They depict from left to right: the Old Testament figure of David as a young shepherd playing the harp; Jesus as the Light of the World; and a figure of motherhood holding a child.

The chancel is separated from the nave by a stone dwarf wall and approached via a flight of steps leading up through a pointed and chamfered arch with a hoodmould. It is lined in oak panelling with benches for the choir and clergy and a priest’s door in the north wall. The choir is separated from the sanctuary by a timber altar rail. Further steps lead up to an elaborately carved oak altar of three full panels and two half panels with blind cinquefoil-cusped ogee-headed lights, quatrefoils and blind tracery below a cornice. Behind the altar is an even more ornate oak reredos of seven panels with blind tracery, canopies to the side and central panels, a cornice and fretwork cresting. The east window is a First World War memorial with stained glass of 1921 by Burlison and Grylls. It is composed of five lights with tracery. The main subject is the Resurrection; the upper portion shows Jesus risen flanked by angels and the patron saints St Nicholas of sailors and St George of soldiers. The lower portions show from left to right; Christ stilling the tempest; Christ tending a wounded soldier and sailor; the Arms of the Diocese of Liverpool; Christ offering the crown of life to a veteran; and Constantine’s vision of the cross before battle. At the base is the inscription: ‘In Memory of the Men who fell, and in honour of those who fought in the Great War, 1914-1918’. The chancel has a timber ceiled wagon roof. Adjoining the north side of the chancel is the vestry, comprising a porch and three vestibules which contain: oak cupboards, a modern kitchen unit, boiler and WC. Beneath the vestry is a basement approached by an external stone staircase; it was not accessible at the time of inspection.

History

The Church of St Andrew is situated at the historic boundary between Bootle and Litherland, Liverpool. In the early C19 Bootle was a bathing resort but from the mid-C19 onwards the area rapidly expanded and became heavily industrialised as docks and warehouses were constructed. Growth was stimulated initially by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and then, more importantly, the northern extension of Liverpool’s docklands. Historic OS maps show this area, close to the northern edge of Bootle, as open fields in 1893, between the railway at the west and the canal at the east. However, by 1909 it was a seamless extension of Liverpool, occupied by rows of terraces with a Dye Works to the west and the Bryant and May Match Works (the largest in the world) to the north-west. The population had increased dramatically as workers arrived to work in the dockland areas, factories and warehouses. Concerns were raised over the health and welfare of the town's residents. A borough hospital was erected (Grade II-listed, National Heritage List for England reference 1419251), and there was demand for churches to provide religious education and cater for the burgeoning community’s spiritual needs. In March 1901 the Reverend George Jackson was placed in charge of a mission room at 2 Delta Street (later renamed Empire Road); the first street of terraces to be built in this area. By July the name of St Andrew’s mission had been given to this nucleus of a new ecclesiastical parish. It proved immediately successful and soon funds for a new Anglican parish church were raised. A Methodist Mission Hall was also built on Stanley Road at this time with a Sunday School added in 1914 (both Grade II-listed; NHLE 1075876 and 1283379).

The Church of St Andrew was built between 1903 and 1904 at a cost of £9,000 provided through donations by local residents and the Earl of Sefton, as well as a bequest by Annie Molyneux. The foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Sefton on 9 May 1903. It was designed by the Liverpool architectural practice Willink and Thicknesse in Free Perpendicular Gothic style. The architect William Edward Willink (1856-1924) grew up in Toxteth Park, Liverpool. He was articled to Alfred Waterhouse in London from 1873 before attending King’s College, Cambridge, and subsequently founding an architectural practice in Liverpool in 1882. He took Philip Coldwell Thicknesse (1860-1920), who had trained in the office of Richard Norman Shaw, into partnership in 1884; a partnership that lasted for 36 years. Willink and Thicknesse developed strong connections with the expanding shipping companies, designing interiors for over 20 ocean liners. They also designed many buildings in Liverpool. There are at least five listed buildings or monuments to their name, the most notable being the Grade II*-listed Cunard Building (NHLE 1052283) constructed in 1913-1916 on Liverpool’s waterfront.

After the initial construction of the Church of St Andrew, local fundraising continued in order to furnish the building: the Mothers’ Union provided a carpet for the chancel and sanctuary in 1907; the Sunday School purchased the oak eagle lectern; and the local guilds provided the oak altar. An organ was installed in 1907 by the local firm W Rushworth and Son (removed in 2017). The nave was originally furnished with chairs but these were replaced with the current oak benches in 1911. A church hall was built adjacent to the church in 1910. A church group known as the ‘Lend-a-Hand League’ was formed to clean and maintain the church. During the First World War, the St Andrew’s War Relief Working Party and St Andrew’s Knitting Circle were also formed, sending hundreds of parcels to the front, even receiving a message of thanks from Queen Alexandra. After the conflict, a war memorial plaque was put up in the church, and a war memorial east window installed in 1921. It was designed by Burlison and Grylls, two craftsmen who trained in the studios of Clayton and Bell before establishing one of England’s most successful stained glass firms. The first vicar, Reverend George Jackson, retired in 1925 and three stained glass windows were subsequently installed in the baptistery in memory of him and his daughter, Kathleen Moira, who died in 1928. During the Second World War, Bootle took some of the heaviest bombing in the country. St Andrew’s Church Hall was being run as an emergency refuge on 3 May 1941 when it was destroyed, killing some 42 people, including several members of St Andrew’s Knitting Circle working for the Women’s Voluntary Service. St Andrew’s Memorial Hall was subsequently erected in its place, adjacent to the church. Several of the church windows were smashed during the bombing raids but the stained glass survived essentially undamaged. Historic photographs indicate that the slate roof coverings were replaced in pantile after the war. Oak panelling was also installed in the chancel whilst benches were provided for the clergy. A Sunday School was built immediately south-west of the church; it is first shown on the 1956 (1:2500) OS map but was demolished prior to 2018.

Reasons for Listing

The Church of St Andrew, built in 1903-1904 to the design of the architectural practice Willink and Thicknesse, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as an accomplished design by the major Liverpool architectural practice of Willink and Thicknesse, who have several listed buildings to their name, most notably the Grade II*-listed Cunard building on Liverpool’s waterfront;
* for the handsome and carefully-detailed exterior in Free Perpendicular Gothic style, including a lofty timber flèche, gabled nave boldly emphasised with clasping buttresses, clerestory windows under the shallowest of aches, and low aisles and west narthex enlivened by yellow terracotta dressings;
* for the elegant interior that exhibits a sense of space, height and openness due to the barrel-vaulted roof, low passage aisles and taller clerestory windows, as well as the attractive apsidal baptistery with a triplet of stained glass windows, central font and Arts and Crafts proportions;
* for the quality of its internal details, materials and finishes, including the carved stone nave arcades, pulpit, and octagonal font, the elaborately carved oak altar and reredos, and the east stained-glass memorial window by Burlison and Grylls;
* most of the internal fittings survive and the exterior is largely unaltered.

Historic interest:

* as a church built in response to a burgeoning community of dock and factory workers and their families at the turn of the C20, following the aggressive urbanisation of Bootle as a major district of Liverpool;
* for the First World War memorial plaque and the stained-glass memorial east window, which serve as a poignant reminder of the tragic impact of world events upon an individual community.

Group value:

* with the contemporary Grade II-listed Methodist Mission Hall and the Methodist Sunday School also built along this thoroughfare to cater for the expanding population.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q59771428

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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