The story begins in the 13th century. Liverpool
received its charter from King John in 1207. A small stone chapel known as the
Chapel of St Mary del Quay probably stood close to the site of the present
tower overlooking a quay on the River Mersey. In the years 1355-61 a new
chapel, dedicated to St Mary and St Nicholas, was built on land granted to the
burgesses by the Duke of Lancaster. During a plague in the town in 1361, the
Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (whose diocese
then included North-west England )
licensed the burial ground, and the following year the chapel itself was
consecrated. By the late 15th century a north aisle, the same size as the nave,
had been added and three chantry altars had been established each with its own
priest paid for by a wealthy patron for whose soul he was to pray: in 1515 a
fourth chantry was founded.
The Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Liverpool . The site is said to have been
a place of worship since at least 1257. The church is situated close to the
River Mersey near the Pier Head. The Chapel of St Nicholas (Patron Saint of
Sailors) was built on the site of St Mary del Quay, which in 1355 was
determined to be too small for the growing borough of Liverpool .
It is a Grade II listed building and an active parish church in the diocese of
Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and
the deanery of Liverpool North. The church was once the tallest building in Liverpool at 53 meters from 1813-1868.
Reformation and beyond
During the English Reformation, the chantries were
abolished. The building was adapted in stages to suit the form of worship found
in the Book of Common Prayer. Between 1673 and 1718, the building was extended
piecemeal, and galleries were built to seat the increasing population of Liverpool . A spire was added in 1746. In 1699 Liverpool , now with a population of about 5,000 people,
was created an independent parish with (unusually) two parish churches and two
rectors. Our Lady and St Nicholas (the "Old
Church " or St Nicks) and the new
parish church of St Peter 's were established as the
parish churches. In 1775, the parish decided to rebuild the walls of the
existing church. The galleries were kept, as the congregation paid pew rents. A
new roof was set atop classical columns, which rested on medieval bases. The
reconstructed church had walls four feet longer than the original structure. By
the year 1865, there were 27 churches in the parish, housing around 275,000
people. Since 1916 Our Lady and St Nicholas has been the Parish Church of
Liverpool. St Peter's, which was situated in Church Street , was demolished in 1922,
having served as pro-cathedral for the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool.
Over the years, as new churches were built, the "Old Church "
continued to serve a congregation. Members repeatedly warned officials that the
spire was unsafe. On Sunday 11 February 1810, as the bells rang and people were
gathering for the morning service, the spire crashed into the nave below,
killing 25 people. Twenty-one were under 15 years old, and most were girls from
Moorfields Charity School. The original ring of six bells, dating from
1636–1724, were destroyed in the disaster. An eyewitness account is found in
Stonehouse's Recollections of Old Liverpool. Recollections of Old Liverpool , by A Nonagenarian. [Link at the end of this
article]

Between 1811 and 1815, a new tower and lantern were built at
the north side of the church. The tower was designed by Thomas Harrison of Chester . The last remains
of the original chapel of St Mary del Quay, which had been used as a tavern,
were demolished. Within the tower, a new ring of 12 bells was installed, cast
by Dobson of Downham Market. The Tenor bell was recast by Warners in 1912. Over
the years, several small changes were made to the church for liturgical
reasons. The most notable changes occurred between 1851 and 1852. The Parish
Centre was built in the 1920s to accommodate community life and a church
school. Apart from these changes, the church remained the same between 1815 and
1940.
Destruction and rebuilding of the church
During World War II, the bells were removed for safety, but
they were never re-hung. Following a German air raid on 21 December 1940, the
main body of the church was destroyed by fire, leaving only the parish rooms,
vestries and the 19th century tower. Rebuilding did not begin until March 1949,
and the church was consecrated in 18 October 1952 (the Feast of St Luke). A new
ring of 12 bells was cast by John Taylor and Co. of Loughborough. The new
church was designed by architect Edward C. Butler, who introduced major changes
to its design. Rather than the traditional practice of placing the altar at the
east end (for the light of the rising sun and to signify the Resurrection), Butler placed it at the
western end of the church.
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The interior of the Church following blitz damage |

In order for the congregation to continue to worship, a
temporary church within St. Nicholas, this was erected inside the old shell
using the old tower as the chancel. Photograph circa 1950s Liverpool
Records Office.
Unlike churches in which the pulpit is traditionally the
most prominent feature, Butler
emphasised the sanctuary. He excluded the galleries, which had helped seat the
historically large congregations. This decision reflected the smaller
contemporary congregations. The nave was designed as 46 ft (14m) taller in the
new church. The positions of the organ pipes
and Refectory were changed; situated above the Narthex (entrance
vestibule), they reduced the seating space within the church.
Exterior and interior detailing
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The Rood |
The exterior of the church is notable for its distinctive
lantern spire, which can be easily spotted from the river, despite being
overshadowed by many taller buildings of the city's business district. The nave
and the sanctuary house fixed woodwork carved with the vine as the dominant
motif, referencing Christ: "I am the vine, you are the branches". In
the southeast corner of the church is a stained glass window: Our Lady stands
in glory as in Revelation and St Nicholas holds a ship. An inscription reads:
"For the Healing of the Nations". A war memorial for the Cunard
Steamship Company, placed in the church in 1989, is in the north east corner.
The church organ is by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool, and is dedicated to
the memory of Charles W. Bridson, organist 1902-1949. Hanging between the nave
and the sanctuary is the Rood, a figure of Christ with Our Lady and St John . The Rood is
carved from the old oak bell frame from the tower.
Charred timbers from the old church form the cross in the
Chapel of St Peter, As a boy I was the sacristan in the church and at the time
the charred cross was on the wall on the left of the Narthex as one entered the
church. An elderly man looking around the church told me that he was one of the
firemen that fought the blaze and that it was he who nailed the two charred
timbers together after the fire was under control. He told me that he had carved his initials
into the timbers and told me his name, so I unhooked the chain that held the
cross to the wall and sure enough there were initials on the back of the
cross. I was only about 15 at the time
and can not now recall the gentleman’s name although I did pass the information
on to the then Rector of Liverpool, Cannon Young.
Bronze statue of Our Lady standing on the prow of a boat

Two chapels are on each side of the altar, St Peter's on the
left and St Mary's on the right. The Chapel of St Peter commemorates the old co-parish
church of St Peter 's, which stood on Church Street . The
18th-century wooden table was once the altar there. The Sacrament is reserved
here, and the chapel is used for weekday Communion services. Charred timbers
from the old church were used to form the cross on the wall. The Maritime
Chapel of St Mary del Quay was dedicated in 1993 as part of the celebrations
for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic . It memorialises the medieval shrine. A statue
of Our Lady, cast in bronze, is shown standing in the prow of a boat. The
statue was created by Liverpool artist Arthur
Dooley. The furnishings in the chapel are by Robin McGhie. The chapel contains
a Book of Remembrance, listing the names of mariners lost at sea.


Closure and transformation of the churchyard
The churchyard used to be surrounded by walls. From 1758 to
1772, a battery of guns stood on an area of the burial ground (now covered by
road) to defend the river. Until 1767, when Georges Dock was built where the Liver Building
now stands, the River Mersey reached the church garden walls at high tide. In
1849 the churchyard was closed to burials. In 1891 it was transformed into a
public garden in memory of James Harrison, whose shipping company had its
offices facing the churchyard until the early 21st century.
In 2014 a secret upper floor room in a Liverpool
church has revealed, The first floor room can only be reached by two sets of
step ladders via the top of a wardrobe and a trap door. It is believed the room
was used as a play area for small children, but was made inaccessible after a
gallery which led to its entrance door was destroyed in the Blitz on December
20, 1940. A number of toys were found in the room including a small model of a
Spitfire fighter plane, introduced in mid-1938, which dates the items to the
two and a half years between then and late 1940. Also found were parish hymn and
prayer books, including an 1696 Annotations of the Holy Bible.
The foundation Stone |
The foundation stone of the new church was laid in 1949, the
inscription reads,
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
THIS FOUNDATION STONE
WAS LAID BY
CLIFFORD ARTHUR
LORD BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE
14TH May 1949
Sources
Wikepedia
National Archives
Article: Robert F Edwards