Church of Saint Andrew, Liverpool
Encyclopedia
The Church of Saint Andrew, Liverpool, is a ruined church in Rodney Street
, Liverpool
, Merseyside
, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building, and is on its Buildings at Risk Register.
the senior surveyor of the Corporation of Liverpool. The church closed in 1975, and was seriously damaged by fire in 1983. Since that time, one of the towers has had to be demolished because it was unsafe. The church and its surrounding graveyard were purchased privately in 1988, with plans to restore the building and open it as offices and medical consulting rooms. However the plans did not not materialise, and the building and site have been acquired by Liverpool City Council
. As of 2011, its future is uncertain. On the Buildings At Risk Register, its condition is stated to be "very poor". The Scottish community previously meeting in the church now meet in the Radcliffe Room in Liverpool Cathedral
.
brick, and contains round-headed windows. The façade is in ashlar
in Greek Revival
style. It contains a recessed portico
with Ionic
columns, and square towers at the corners surmounted by small domes. In the National Heritage List for England it is described as "a distinguished building in a desperate condition".
, a railway contractor who died in 1851. It is in the shape of a pyramid, is constructed in granite
, and was erected in 1868. Facing the street is a blind entrance flanked by uprights supporting a lintel
containing a bronze plaque. The structure is a Grade II listed building.
There is a tradition that, as Mackenzie was a gambling man, he sold his soul to the Devil, and that his body was placed in a seating position above ground within the pyramid, in order that the Devil may not claim him. His ghost is said to haunt Rodney Street.
Rodney Street, Liverpool
Rodney Street in Liverpool, England is noted for the number of doctors and its Georgian architecture. It is sometimes known as the "Harley Street of the North". Together with Hope Street and Gambier Terrace it forms the Rodney Street conservation area...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building, and is on its Buildings at Risk Register.
History
The church was built in 1823 for Scottish Presbyterians in Liverpool. The foundation stone was laid on 17 June, and the church opened the following year on 3 December. The body of the church was designed by Daniel Stewart, the surveyor of the church's committee of management, and the façade by John FosterJohn Foster (architect)
John Foster, Junior was an English architect.-Biography:Foster studied under Jeffry Wyatt in London and in 1809 travelled in the eastern Mediterranean. During 1810-11 he accompanied C. R. Cockerell and the German archaeologists Haller and Linckh in their excavation of the temples at Aegina and...
the senior surveyor of the Corporation of Liverpool. The church closed in 1975, and was seriously damaged by fire in 1983. Since that time, one of the towers has had to be demolished because it was unsafe. The church and its surrounding graveyard were purchased privately in 1988, with plans to restore the building and open it as offices and medical consulting rooms. However the plans did not not materialise, and the building and site have been acquired by Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
. As of 2011, its future is uncertain. On the Buildings At Risk Register, its condition is stated to be "very poor". The Scottish community previously meeting in the church now meet in the Radcliffe Room in Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
.
Architecture
The body of the church is constructed in renderedStucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
brick, and contains round-headed windows. The façade is in ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
in Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style. It contains a recessed portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns, and square towers at the corners surmounted by small domes. In the National Heritage List for England it is described as "a distinguished building in a desperate condition".
Mackenzie Monument
Adjacent to the church in the churchyard is a monument to William MackenzieWilliam Mackenzie (contractor)
William Mackenzie was a British civil engineer and civil engineering contractor who was one of the leading European contractors in the 1840s.-Early life:...
, a railway contractor who died in 1851. It is in the shape of a pyramid, is constructed in granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, and was erected in 1868. Facing the street is a blind entrance flanked by uprights supporting a lintel
Lintel (architecture)
A lintel can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, and windows.-Structural uses:...
containing a bronze plaque. The structure is a Grade II listed building.
There is a tradition that, as Mackenzie was a gambling man, he sold his soul to the Devil, and that his body was placed in a seating position above ground within the pyramid, in order that the Devil may not claim him. His ghost is said to haunt Rodney Street.