An early work by L. A. G. Prichard, in the brick Romanesque style popular between the wars. 

Litherland was developed as a northern continuation of Bootle in the nineteenth  century. Most of it is twentieth century in date. According to papers in the diocesan archive, the site of the church was given to Bishop Brown by Lord Sefton in 1846. A school and parish hall was built here, replaced by the present church in 1934-5. The English Martyrs of the dedication are Thomas More and John Fisher, canonised in 1935.

Description

A 1930s church in the Romanesque style by L. A. G. Prichard, built of red brick with tiled roof coverings. The plan comprises a west porch, southwest tower, wide nave and small apsidal sanctuary. The west front has a projecting single-storey porch with a triple-arched front and a hipped tiled roof.  A second triple-arched passage connects the northeast corner of the church with the presbytery.  Above the main porch, in the west wall of the nave is a wheel window and above that a plaque with crossed palms under a martyr’s crown. The southwest tower is slightly set back from the west front. It has a round-arched doorway on the south side, single small round- headed windows on two stages above with paired windows under a round arch in the belfry stage, all set in a central vertical recession in the tower face.  The pyramidal roof is tiled. The body of the church is of six bays, each divided by brick pilaster strips. There is a paired window opening in each bay, with small-paned metal windows. At the east end is a small apsidal sanctuary.

The interior is a wide space with a carpeted floor, timber dado, plain plastered walls and a shallow canted ceiling compartmented by timber ribs. The nave windows are clear glazed. The sanctuary is demarcated by plain triple round arches at the east end, the central taller arch with a hanging rood, and another round arch opens to the apse with the high altar. The apse has two small windows a side and is lined with white marble to the window cills. The church has been reordered with a forward altar in front of the high altar.

External image © Copyright J Thomas and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Entry amended by AHP 9.1.2021

Heritage Details