Sefton Park Presbyterian Church Liverpool.

[peterjlea]

I've got a newspaper cutting from 1910 re my Gt. Uncle John Lea (who was Lord Mayor of Liverpool earlier) erecting a stained-glass window in memory of his wife Isabella at Sefton Park Presbyterian Church.
I'm looking in to this, & there appears to be two with that name
There's the one very well described in TANN at Bromptom Av., with stained glass windows by Burne-Jones, but on the web there's also another one on the south side of the park at Lark Lane.
There's also a Presbyterian (now Uniterian) church at Ullet Rd. (couple of hundred yards from Brompton Av.) which on the web says that it may have had the Burne-Jones windows
I've only got a pea-brain and it's about to blow a fuse
Were there really two churches with the same name in Sefton Park, and which one in 1910 would be referred to as 'Sefton Park Presbyterian Church' in the newspapers.
Could some kind person illuminate me please

[Tina]

Hi
1911 Gores/Kellys Directory has
Presbyterian Church of England (Sefton Park Church)
31 Brompton Avenue
Samuel Jackson, Secretary

Tina

added I went through Lark Lane in above Directory but couldn't find anything, all businesses.
If you have a street number I'll look again

[Tina]

1901 I've found John Lea 50 Director of Coal Merchants bn Lpool
married, no spouse, 4 servants
living at "Linwood" Mossley Hill Road.
I'm sure you probably have this but couldn't resist posting!!

1891 John & Isabella 43 bn Whiston coal merchants, both visitors Branksome Dorset.
Added later her birthplace listed as Wharton, have sent error to Anc#

1881 is confusing with her relationship to John
but having found a marriage it explains a lot
RG11/3722/113/18
Lancs BMD Isabella M (McLaren) Evans to John Lea 1879.
Added later
1881 birthplace for Isabell a is Farnley Yorkshire

Tina

[Hilary]

David Lewis' book The churches of Liverpool says this about

Sefton Park Presbyterian Chruch

"Without doubt the most flourishing centre of religious activity in Liverpool", wrote the Liverpool Review in 1894. The church opened in 1880 on the corner of Brompton Avenue and Croxteth gate, opposite Sefton Park. "The position of the church is particularly imposing", wrote the Review. "The building itself is a handsome one inside and out, and is replete with every modern convenience, even to the point of the elaborate installation of the electric light". The congregation at that time was "probably the richest and most influential in Liverpool". After many years as waste ground, the site of the church is now new housing. Earle Road presbyterian Church started life as a mission church from this building.

There is a photo of the church shown so perhaps Liverpool Record Office has a photo.

Hilary
Ed Officer

[daggers]

I don't think the Unitarian church in Ullet Road was ever Presbyterian, although other older Unitarian churches had previously been described as Presbyterian or Independent.
David Lewis's book makes no mention of Burne-Jones windows, but Joseph Sharples, in the Pevsner Architectural Guide series volume on 'Liverpool', says this:
Stained glass mostly by Morris & Co after designs by Edward Burne-Jones...

D

[peterjlea]

Thanks to everyone who replied.
The info I've got from the web re the Lark Lane church:
Sefton Park Presbyterian Church TOXTETH L17 4JB. Aigburth Drive, near corner with Lark Lane (this is on the south side of the park). Est: 1875,
burnt down 1919, rebuilt 1924, closed & demolished 1979/80. Some of these dates are similar to the Brompton Av. church.
It must have existed. The key is which one burnt down in 1919?
However I'm now pretty certain that it was the Bromptain Av. church that Alderman John Lea went to. He was not short of a bob or two, and would fit in well with the congregation as described, and he has been called a Scottish Presbyterian and the church had 'a strong Scottish influence'.
The Lark Lane church was a red herring In 1881 John Lea is living with wife Isabella Mclaren (Evans) in the house of her sister Emily Bannerman Evans at Rydal House, St. Agnes Rd., Huyton (opposite Macgoldrick Park).
There was another sister Jane Campbell Evans. Their father Richard Evans married a scotswoman Jane Young, and the Perths. Youngs had previously married into the Mclarens (also from Perths.), Bannermans, & Campbells. The Evans's (Richard Evans & Co.) were heavily into Cheshire Salt & St. Helens coal, & wealthy.
I've now got a stack of info. on John Lea. (He was by a long shot the most interesting of my ancesters) and I'm supposed to be collating it into a 'paper'. I could put it on this forum but it's already 2xA4 sides big!
Keep smiling

[Tina]

Hi Peter
Thank you for so much interesting info about your family.

1894 Kelly's Gores has John Lea Coal Prop res
27 Ullet Road Sefton Park.
John Lea & Co 74 Crown St Lpool Coal Proprietors

Don't quote me but I believe Christ Church in Linnet Lane was destroyed by fire in 1919.
let me google

Tina

[marky]

Sefton Park Presbyterian Church, Brompton Avenue/Croxteth Road.
It was here (Google Streetview):
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 49.25,,0,5

AKA Dr Watsons Church:
http://www.alfapostcards.com/product/dr ... 4-postcard

AKA Ian Maclarens Church:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IAN-MACLARENS-CHU ... 19c13dc2a6

[Tina]

Just to say
Peter sent me a pm to thank me about 1894 info, a new piece in the jigsaw.
Thank you Peter!!

Tina

[peterjlea]

Hiya,
Thanks for photos Marky. Very interesting.
We still haven't found out which Sefton Park church burnt down in 1919, which suprises me. Churches don't burn down every ten minutes. It would have been a main story in the Liverpool papers, and probably got into the national press. If I new the date I'd look in back copies of The Times.
Have a nice Christmas everyone.

[juno]

According to Lancashire Online Parish Clerk Project this church was on the corner of Aigburth Drive and Lark Lane.

It was closed 1979 and demolished 1980.

Source is quoted as Liverpol Record Office.

Hope this helps

Juno

[marky]

Here's the webarchive link for Toxteth.net showing the churches of Toxteth:
http://web.archive.org/web/200802082235 ... /index.htm

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report ... mpid=41287:
"The important church by the Sefton Park gates, where Dr. John Watson (Ian Maclaren) was minister, was built in 1879."

At the date mentioned, at the start of this thread, the Church was still at Brompton Avenue/Croxteth Road. It is marked as Presb. Ch on the 1905 OS map (Princes Park, Godfrey re-print). Lancashire Online Parish Clerk Project has an incorrect OS Grid Reference for this Church.
Through various mergers it became part of Toxteth with Sefton Park United Reformed Church at Ullet Road (opposite Belvidere Road).

The Church that burned down was St Bedes, in the next street, Hartington Avenue (later re-built).

[daggers]

Marky is right about St Bede's in Hartington Avenue. It burned down in 1919 and was rebuilt, opening in in 1924. This detail comes from David Lewis's 'Churches of Liverpool'. Neither event warrants a mention in the Annals of Liverpool, part of Gore's Directories.

Happy Christmas all round.
Daggers

[Tina]

Going back to my post Dec 12 where John had no spouse.
I've found an Isabella Lea married born Farnley Yorkshire
living as a boarder 8 Chester Terr, St George's Hanover Sq London.
It's a lodging house. I looked through census, thinking perhaps she wasn't well and having treatment for some illness with no luck. It's chockers with hotels & lodging houses.
Perhaps she went on a shopping spree??

RG13/85/105/19

Death mar qtr 1908 W Dby 59yrs.


Tina

[Tina]

Hi again Peter
I've been catching up on your family from your post.
Interesting, Isabella born Yorks in W Dby 1851, her Dad is only 39 and a retired coal merchant.
I'm guessing he's not retired like us Senior Citzs
moving on to new interests.
1861 Anc## has Emily Ban Evans, you did mention marriages etc into the Bannerman family. That's how her birth is listed in Free BMD Lpol jun qtr 1841. Can't sent an error for this one.
They're in Wharton Ches so I'm guessing this where Isabella thought she was born in previous census.

Tina
TTFN