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Church of St Agnes and St Pancras, Toxteth Park

Coordinates: 53°23′22″N 2°56′23″W / 53.3895°N 2.9398°W / 53.3895; -2.9398
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Church of St Agnes and St Pancras, Toxteth Park
Map
53°23′22″N 2°56′23″W / 53.3895°N 2.9398°W / 53.3895; -2.9398
OS grid referenceSJ 375,884
LocationToxteth Park, Liverpool
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
ChurchmanshipAnglo-Catholic
Websitewww.stagnes.org.uk
History
StatusParish church
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated14 March 1975
Architect(s)John Loughborough Pearson
Architectural typeChurch
Groundbreaking1883
Completed1885
Construction cost£28,000
Specifications
MaterialsRed brick with red sandstone dressings, tile roof
Administration
ProvinceProvince of York
DioceseDiocese of Liverpool
ArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of Liverpool
DeaneryToxteth and Wavertree
Clergy
Bishop(s)Rt Revd Stephen Race SSC (AEO)
Priest(s)Fr Andrew Brown

The Church of St Agnes and St Pancras is in Ullet Road, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building,[1] and is an active Anglican church in the diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of Toxteth and Wavertree.[2] Pevsner described it as "by far the most beautiful Victorian church of Liverpool...an epitome of Late Victorian nobility in church design".[3]

History

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The church was built between 1883 and 1885 at a cost of £28,000 (equivalent to £4,090,000 in 2023),[4] which was paid for by the stockbroker H. Douglas Horsfall. The architect was John Loughborough Pearson.[3]

Present day

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The parish stands in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England.[5] As it rejects the ordination of women, it receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Beverley (currently Stephen Race).[6]

Architecture

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Exterior

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The church is built in red brick with red sandstone dressings and a tile roof. Its plan consists of a four-bay nave with lean-to aisles and a clerestory, transepts at both ends, a south chapel with lean-to aisles, a short chancel with a canted polygonal apse, and an ambulatory which is flanked by turrets. At the west end are two porches. The west end and the transepts have angle buttresses and gable crosses. Over the east crossing is a lead-covered flèche. The windows are either lancets or have plate tracery.[1][3]

Interior

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The interior of the church is lined with Caen stone.[7] The northwest transept contains the baptistry with a marble font[1] carved by Nathaniel Hitch, who also worked with Pearson in Truro Cathedral.[7] The nave has arcades with round piers and balconies above. The northeast transept contains the organ loft which consists of a polygonal platform supported by a central column of black marble surrounded by ten more columns around the edges. The south chapel is the Lady Chapel.[1][3] Its screen of 1904 and reredos of 1904 were designed by G. F. Bodley.[3][8] The ambulatory runs round the apse and is divided from the sanctuary by an arcade with statues of angel musicians in the spandrels. Above this is a frieze in high relief depicting the Adoration of the Lamb, and above this are statues of angels under canopies.[1][3] The high altar reredos was carved by Nathaniel Hitch, as were the apse carvings. The pulpit is carved in Italian marble and depicts the Apostles and Church Fathers.[9] The stained glass includes windows by Kempe and Herbert Bryans.[1][3] The original pipe organ originally built by Wordsworth and Maskell of Leeds, has been unusable since 1996. The fine case and majority of the pipework survive in situ, for restoration should a funds be later made available. The instrument was well regarded for its rich and noble tone, having received attention and enlargement from the pipe organ firms of Rushworth and Dreaper as well as the firm of Walker’s. The console has been removed and replaced by that of an electronic organ which was made by Hugh Banton.[10][11]

Associated buildings

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Behind the church is the vicarage which was built between 1885 and 1887 to a design by Norman Shaw and paid for by H. Douglas Horsfall's mother. It is built in red brick with stone dressings and has two storeys. Its windows are arranged asymmetrically and include a canted oriel window on the street elevation.[3] The vicarage is a Grade II* listed building.[12] Also behind the church and attached to it by a passage is the church hall. It was built probably in 1887 and is also by Shaw. The hall is built in red brick with a tile roof. Its main part has a clerestory and lean-to aisles, and behind this is a smaller single-story room with windows containing tracery. It is listed at Grade II.[13]

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Agnes & St Pancras.
  1. ^ a b c d e f Historic England, "Church of St Agnes, Ullet Road, Liverpool (1359871)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 August 2012
  2. ^ Deanery of Toxteth and Wavertree, The Diocese of Liverpool, retrieved 8 October 2008
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Sharples, Joseph; Pollard, Richard (2004), Liverpool, Pevsner Architectural Guides, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 284–286, ISBN 0-300-10258-5
  4. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  5. ^ "THE PARISH OF ST AGNES & ST PANCRAS TOXTETH PARK LIVERPOOL: PARISH PROFILE" (PDF). Diocese of Liverpool. 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "St Agnes and St Pancras, Toxteth Park". See of Beverley. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  7. ^ a b The Nave and High Altar; The Baptistery, St Agnes, Toxteth Park, archived from the original on 6 July 2008, retrieved 9 October 2008
  8. ^ The Lady Chapel, St Agnes, Toxteth Park, archived from the original on 5 July 2007, retrieved 9 October 2008
  9. ^ The High Altar and Reredos, St Agnes, Toxteth Park, archived from the original on 9 July 2007, retrieved 9 October 2008
  10. ^ Liverpool, St. Agnes, Ullet Road, Sefton Park, British Institute of Organ Studies, retrieved 9 October 2008
  11. ^ The Organ at St Agnes, St Agnes, Toxteth Park, archived from the original on 7 July 2007, retrieved 9 October 2008
  12. ^ Historic England, "St Agnes' Vicarage, Ullet Road, Liverpool (1218225)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 August 2012
  13. ^ Historic England, "St Agnes' Church Hall, Ullet Road, Liverpool (1063313)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 August 2012
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