CHURCH HISTORY

 

Although St. Mary’s was consecrated in 1813 it was not until 1906 that the first vicar was appointed. Previous to that date there had been six ministers-in-charge of the district.

 

The first of these was Rev. Adam Hayes who took charge of the district in the early days when Edge Hill was quite in the country, and people came out of Liverpool to stay in Edge Hill for sake of its fresh air and bracing breezes. He remained at St. Mary’s until his death in 1823 and was buried in the Church Yard.

(1815 Reverand Hayes married Miss Jane Butler of edge Hill )

 

N.B. The clock in the tower was given by Edward Masons daughter, 1819 made by James Condliffe.

(There is a memorial to Ellen Mason (daughter of Edward Mason, in the Church)

 

The Rev C.L. Swainson succeeded him and about this time the church was enlarged at the expense of Miss Mason, who had previously (in 1820) given the clock which keeps time for Edge Hill. Again, in 1832, the church was repaired and painted by Miss Mason’s liberality, this was the last of her many benefactions as she died in the autumn of the same year aged 61.

 

Rev C. L. Swainson Part of the Clergy here at St. Mary. This Parish had a connection to the beginning of Holy Trinity Church Hoose. (Hoylake Wirral)

 

Charles Litchfield Swainson:
Christening of 27 Jun 1799 Saint John Hackney,London,England. C042152
Marriage 23 May 1838 Milverton,Warwick,England. Spouse Harriett Littledale. MO43732
1851 Rector of the Parish of Crick Northampton. Mother Betty Swainson living here age 79.
1861 Rector of the Parish of Crick Northamptonshire.
1871 Rector of the Parish of Crick Northamptonshire.
Death Charles Litchfield 4 Aug 1871.Northamptonshire,England

 

(There is a memorial to John Timothy Swainson (Father of C.L.Swainson, in the Church)

(J.T. Swainson - Collector of HN Customs, Liverpool & Lord of the Manor of Hoylake, Cheshire, he married 3 times)

 

In 1835 Mr Swainson resigned and appointed the Rev. F. Barker to succeed him and who remained at St. Mary’s until 1854. It is interesting to note that he had an assistant the Rev. Vincent Ryan and this partnership must have marked quite a brilliant period in the history of St. Mary’s. Mr. Barker soon after was consecrated Bishop of Sydney and Mr. Ryan Bishop of Mauritius. So that in the first 25 years of its history , St. Mary’s has some influence in the training of two future Bishops of the Church. History was to repeat itself but a hundred years had to elapse before another vicar of St. Mary was consecrated Bishop.

 

In 1855 the Rev. F. W. Harke became minister of the Church; during his time there was, in 1859, and extensive renovation of the Church. The east window was erected and also a handsome oak pulpit and communion rails.

 

Mr. Harke was succeeded by Mr. J. Turnbull who remained until 1887 and it was during his ministry that the whole character surroundings of St. Mary’s was entirely altered. What had been originally almost a country church and had by stages become a popular suburban church, was now the centre of a large and rapidly growing district of the City of Liverpool itself. Streets were being built on the fields, and all vestige of the country disappearing.

 

When the Rev. A. Wilson was appointed minister in 1887 the transformation was practically complete; the days far gone when the Church was surrounded by a ring carriages on Sunday mornings. During his ministry the Altar Reredos was erected through the generosity of Mr. Richard Hall.

 

Mr. Wilson died in 1905 and the Rev. T. P. Rowe was appointed Minister. Curiously enough it was not until then that St. Mary’s had an assigned parochial district. Had Mr. Rowe remained for any length of time it is possible that he would have become the first Vicar of the parish but the following year he was appointed to the living of Garston and subsequently in 1906 St. Mary’s becomes a parish in its own right and the first Vicar was appointed in the person of the Rev. J. P. N. Potter.

 

St. Mary’s was now almost 100 years old and during Mr. Potter’s time much work was done to renovate the Church and Churchyard in order that the Centenary of the Church might be suitably observed. This was observed, strangely enough, not in September, the month of the consecration but on the 29th of June and 6th of July, 1913. The Rev. Cannon J Macquaide , Rector of the Cathedral, Raphoe, the Rev Andrew Douglas, Vicar of St. Cuthbert’s, Preston, and Cannon Howson, Rector of Woolton were the special preachers. One of the highlights of the Centenary Celebrations was a Parish Re-Union on Wednesday 2nd July of that year.

 

Mr. Potter left St. Mary’s in 1915 and was succeeded as Vicar, by the Rev W. Shaw. During his long stay at St. Mary’s he won the respect and admiration of all the parishioners by his sincere and conscientious personality. A number of changes were made at this time to the fabric of the Church. The present Clergy vestry was added. The original ‘hot-air’ heating system was removed and the central heating which is still in the church today was installed and gas lighting was replaced by electricity. It was also during Mr. Shaw’s incumbency that the War Memorial was erected in the Church Yard.

 

The third Vicar of the Parish was the Rev. William Ingles found a large enthusiastic band of workers to help him at a time of national depression. During his ministry the parish continued to flourish and great work was being done in the School under the able leadership of Mr. Vines.

 

These were great days, too, for Adelaide House in Edge Lane, where Miss Clarke tended her flock with efficiency and care. The girls were regular attenders at Church, and indeed, contributed a great deal to its life. The church has kept its connection with Adelaide House to this present day; one of our Vicars is on the Board of Governors, also our Mothers Union regularly makes up gift sets to take along.

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At this time, too, St. Mary’s was noted for the excellence of its music under the guidance of a number of excellent organists and choirmasters.

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Mr. Ingles’ stay at St. Mary’s came to an end in 1936 when he was succeeded by the Rev. Eric Treacy.

 

In a long letter describing his stay at St. Mary’s Mr. Treacy wites with deep feeling of the happy days he remembers. Despite the looming clouds of war the parish, indeed, thrived under his leadership. There was, in those days a strong Mens’ Club which met in Kinglake Street and also a Literany and Philosophical Society. The boys of the parish were catered for in a vey active Boys’ Brigade Company.

 

All the enthusiasm and activity was, unfortunately , soon to be brought to an end. In 1939 war broke out. Mr Treacy was soon called to the Forces as a Chaplain, many men never to return, homes were damaged and destroyed, children were evacuated from the district. Mercifully the Church itself remained standing.

 

The famous May Blitz 1941 caused damage to the church (see side chapels stained glass windows) Other leaded light windows were damaged as well and replaced with simpler glass. There was some structural damage to the arch over the communion rail. This was rectified during David Lewis’ incumbency.

 

It was at this time that the Church School in Kinglake Street which for many years had served the church and the district so well closed as most of the school children had left the district.

 

Mr. Treacy’s ministry ended in 1941 and so ended, as for so many ‘down-town’ parishes an era of large congregations with thriving mid-week organisations. He made his mark on St. Mary’s and it was with great joy that parishioners heard of his consecration to the bishopric of Potefract in 1961. Thus after a period of almost 100 years history was to repeat itself and a one-time Vicar of St. Mary’s was to become a Bishop.

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Rev. Treacy is also know for his photographs of train locomotives, many taken at Edge Hill, and published in a number of books.

 

The Rev. Dr. Leslie Welton was appointed Vicar in 1941. His was the unenviable task of trying to rally a parish which for many reasons was slowly slitting up. People had left either to fight for their country or else to escape the hazards of bombing. It would be wrong to say that the parish thrived at this time, indeed few did, At the end of the war, in 1945, many parishes were able, as it were, to return to normal but unfortunately this was not to be so in the case of St. Mary’s. Much of the character of the neighborhood changed. Many who had left never returned; others felt the all common urge to move further afield. The school which had done so much to build up the young people of the parish was never reopened although it still remained on the Ministry of Education’s list. With the loss of an active congregation the finances of the church sank to a low ebb.

 

Dr. Welton was succeeded in 1950 by the Rev. Llewellyn Lewis who faced a difficult period of trying to put the parish on its feet again. He arrived to find the Vicarage in such appalling state that it was almost touch and go whether he returned to his former parish. One catastrophe after another befell him, most outstanding of all being the complete collapse of the ceiling of the church; thus there was little time for the real spiritual advancement of the parish. Yet such was his ministry that when he left in 1955 he had, with the help and encouragement of a loyal and self sacrificing band of parishioners, put the parish on a secure financial footing.

 

It is not easy, in a few short sentences, to pay adequate tribute to the many achievements which were made at St. Mary’s under the leadership of the Rev. Frank Cartwright who was appointed Vicar in 1955. The results of his work are still to be seen and admired by all who enter the church.

 

He came to a parish which, despite the difficulties of previous years, was once again beginning to find its feet and he succeeded in no uncertain way in encouraging and enthusing the small, but loyal, band of parishioners to greater efforts. His first goal was to adorn and beautify the House of God. The interior which had become dark and gloomy with age was tastefully redecorated and then, assisted by a bequest from Miss Speakman the old choir stalls were replaced by modern oak ones. At the same time the pulpit was renovated and restored as well as the lectern and an oak floor was laid in the Chancel. This remarkable transformation of the interior must really be seen to be appreciated and speaks highly of the enthusiasm of the parishioners whose work and sacrifice made it possible. This was not the end of renovations to be carried out in the fabric of the church. In the middle of all this work the parish was faced with a large bill for making good the ravages of dry rot and then finally the heating system which had given good service over the years had to be replaced by a new oil-fired boiler.

 

At the same time much work was being done with the youth of the parish. Youth Organisations were started, the choir was built up in numbers and a Guild of Servers was brought into being.

 

Older members of the congregation still remember this time, and the people who led the church organisations.

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Despite all this tremendous work, the reconstruction of the Church, the many bills and difficulties Mr Cartwright was able to leave St. Mary’s in 1962 in a stronger financial position than when he arrived. In his last report to the Annual Meeting he, quite rightly, paid tribute to the tremendous support and loyalty which he had received from the people of St. Mary’s.

 

Rev. John O’Ryan was instituted by the Bishop of Liverpool in November 1962.

 

The Rev. Alan Godson, 1972-2001, had the church re-decorated in its current colours and was responsible for inviting numerous guest speakers: Richard Wurmbrand, David Alton MP, Gerald Williams (tennis broadcaster) Apollo Perillini (rugby league player), Michael Green (evangelist). He was also responsible for the fame (or notoriety) of St Mary's being known as "The Church with the signs outside".

 

 

David Lewis   2001-

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Mike Coates.