Our Churches and Chapels - Atticus
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The church has a solid, substantial, well-finished interior, and the
only fault which can be found with it is, that it is rather low. If
the roof could be lifted a yard or so higher, the general effect
would be wonderfully improved; but it would be very difficult to do
this now; and we suppose the altitude, which was regulated by the
funds in hand during the process of building, will have to remain as
at present. But the lowness of the roof may have some compensating
advantages. If higher the church might have been colder, and its
sounding properties, which are good, might have been interfered
with. At present the space is condensed, and this tends to
concentrate both warmth, and what acoustical gentlemen term,
reverberation. The roof is strongly filled in with diagonally laid,
dark-stained timber, is open and semi-circular, but looks rather
heavy and gloomy. There are no huge ungainly pillars in the body of
the building; an easy, capacious freedom prevails in it; seeing is
not a difficult business; the first sensation which increases as you
remain in the church, is calmly pleasurable and satisfactory. There
is nothing flimsey, nor specious, nor whimsical in the place;
evenness and harmony of proportion; simplicity and solidity of
style, strength and straightforwardness of workmanship, strike you
as its characteristics. The pulpit, which is made of stone, and
approached by an internal staircase, adorned on one side with open
pillars, is most durable, and handsome in style. Every part of the
church can be seen from it; and several parsons might be
accommodated in it and the balcony immediately adjoining. The
reading desk is of carved oak, and, although rather small, has a
tasteful and substantial appearance. T. Tomlinson, Esq., who gave
the font, presented both the pulpit and the desk, and has likewise
given the ceremonial books. The lectern--strong, ornamental, and
weighty--is the gift of M. Myres, Esq. The chancel is tolerably
lofty and cheerful-looking. Good windows are inserted in it; but the
main one is inferior in design to those in the transept, and that at
the western end. Passages of scripture are painted round the arches
of the chancel and transept; the expense thereof having been
defrayed by Mr. Park, decorator, and Mr. Veevers, of the firm of
Myres, Veevers, and Myres. There is a neat dado round the church,
which was made at the expense of Mr. J. J. Myres. The seats in the
church are most conveniently arranged. They are well fit up, have
good sloped backs, and are so constructed as to accommodate either
large or small families in separate sections. Emmanuel Church, the
foundation-stone of which was laid on the 18th of April, 1868, by
Sir T. G. Fermor-Hesketh, M.P., has cost, in round figures, 6,000
pounds. It will accommodate 1,000 people, and all the seats, except
359, are free.
The church, considering its capacity and general finish, is thought
to be one of the cheapest buildings for miles round. Some time, when
the building fund has been replenished, a parsonage house will be
erected at the eastern end of the church. The schools which adjoin
are attended, during week days, by upwards of 220 scholars; and on
Sundays the attendance, including the various classes, with their
teachers, &c., will be about 450. There is a "Conservative
Constitutional Association" in connection with Emmanuel Schools. The
members meet in a building which was once a farmhouse, near the
church; they have for ever of courage; can discuss the great
concerns of the empire with ease and eloquence; are prepared at any
time to administer remedies for all the grievances of the five
divisions of the human race, as classified by Blumenbach; and would
be willing to sit daily, from ten till four, on the highest peak of
Olympus, and direct the affairs of the universe.
The minister of the church is the Rev. E. Sloane Murdoch; and we
dare say if the Cuilmenn of Erin, or the Book of the Uachongbhail,
or the Cin Droma Snechta, or the Saltair of Cashel could have been
consulted, his ancestors would have been found named therein. Mr.
Murdoch is a young man, hails from Derry, possesses a strong
constitution, has small, sharp eyes, and a very round head; has
remarkably smooth hair, brushed close to the bone, and well parted;
and is of a determined, active disposition. Following the example of
many other parsons, he likes a closely-buttoned coat and a walking
stick. He is sharp, quick in resenting aggressions, would soon have
his native blood stirred, is tempted to be a little imperious,
considers that he is a power in the district, has much endurance, is
systematical in thought, wary in expression, hesitates and flutters
a little in some of his sentences, has a strong Hibernian brogue,
but is precise with it; throws more recollection than original
thought into his utterances, visits his district well, is a fair
scholar, is dry and prosaic until warmed up, can feel more than he
can express, has little rhetorical display, seems as if he would
like to shake himself when at a white heat, gets 195 pounds a year--
135 pounds from Emmanuel Church, and 60 pounds for his services at
the workhouse--and would not find any fault whatever if the sum were
raised to 300 pounds. Mr. Murdoch was originally ordained curate of
a parish in the diocese of Kilmore, the father-in-law of the present
incumbent of St. Peter's, Preston, being bishop thereof at the time;
he stayed in the parish about a year; then went into the diocese of
Derry, taking a curacy near Coleraine, which he held for three
years; got a degree at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1858; was then
ordained by the late Bishop of Killaloe; came to St. Peter's,
Preston, as curate, in the spring of 1863; stayed there upwards of
three years; and was then agreeably translated to Emmanuel Church.
Mr. Murdoch is a very useful minister in the district, has striven
much to illumine the sinners thereof, is bringing them now to a very
fair state of enlightenment, and may in time get the whole district
into a bright state of sacred combustion.
At the bottom of Fishergate Hill, in Bird-street, there is a small,
clean-looking, pleasantly-formed building which, since the 14th of
October 1869, has been used as a chapel of ease for Christ church.
It cost 1000 pounds, was built conjointly by Mr. R. Newsham, Mr. J.
F. Higgins, and Mr. W. B. Roper in memory of the late J. Bairstow,
Esq., who left each of them several thousands; will accommodate
about 240 persons; is tolerably well attended; and is one of the
tidiest little places of worship we have seen. No effort at
architectural display has been made in its construction. It has a
brick exterior, has a comely little porch at the west end, is
surmounted in the centre by a turret, has several yards of iron
railing bending in various directions near the front, and will
require considerable protection, if its general health has to be
preserved. None of the windows have yet been broken, but we dare say
they will be by and by, for the neighbourhood possesses some
excellent stone-throwers; the Ribble has not yet flowed into it, but
it may pay one of its peculiar visits some day, for in this quarter
it is no respecter of buildings, whether they be chapels or public
houses. The edifice has a light, simple, unassuming interior. Chairs
seem to constitute the principal articles of furniture. There are
232 for the congregation, and 232 little red buffets as well, 11 for
the choir, one for the organ blower, and two for the parson. At the
top of each chair back there is a thick piece of wood on which is
plastered a printed paper, requesting the worshippers to kneel
during prayers, and to join in the responses. The paper also makes a
quiet allusion to offertory business, the defraying of expenses, and
the augmentation of the curate's salary. The chairs are planted down
the church in two rows, and they look very singular. The organ at
the south east corner is a pretty little instrument. A reading desk
on the opposite side, standing upon a small platform, suffices for
the pulpit. Behind there is a strip of strong blue-painted canvas
bearing a text in gilt letters referring to the Sacrament. Above
there is a three-light stained glass window. At the western end,
just under the doorway, a marble tablet is fixed; and upon it is an
allusion to the virtues of the late J. Bairstow, Esq., and to the
gentlemen who erected the building. The average congregation
consists of about 200 middle and working class people. The services
are generally conducted by the Rev. J. D. Harrison, curate of Christ
Church--a young gentleman who works with considerable vigour, and
never sneezes at the offertory contributions, however small they may
be. Mr. Harding, of this town, designed the building, which is a
homely, kindly-looking little affair--a bashful, tiny, domesticated
creature, a nursling amid the matured and ancient, a baby among the
Titans, which may some day reach whiskerdom and manhood.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH.
"And now, finally, brethren." To the "beginning of the end" have we
got. The journey has been long and tortuous. When we have proceeded
forty inches further we shall stop. Not with the "last rose of
summer," nor with the "last of all the Romans," nor with the "last
syllable of recorded time," nor with the "last words of Marmion"--
the Mohicans are barred out--have we to deal, but with the last
place of worship, fairly coming within the category of "Our Churches
and Chapels." St. Mary's Church is situated in a huge, rudely-spun
district, known by the name of "New Preston." That district used to
be one of the wildest in this locality; "schimelendamowitchwagon"
was not known in it; not much of that excellent article is yet known
in it; and tons of good seed, saying nothing of manure, will have to
be planted in its hard ground before it either blossoms like the
rose or pays its debts. This district was originally brought into
active existence by John Horrocks, Esq., the founder of the Preston
cotton trade. Prior to his time there were a few people in it who
believed that 10s. a week was a good wage, and that Nixon's Book of
Prophecies was an infallible guide; but not before he planted in the
locality a body of hand-loom weavers did it show signs of commercial
vivacity, and begin to develope itself. Handloom weaving is now
about as hopeless a job as trying to extract sunlight out of
cucumbers; but at that time it was a paying air. Weavers could then
afford to play two or three days a week, earn excellent wages,
afterwards wear top boots, and then thrash their wives in comfort
without the interference of policemen. They and their immediate
descendants belonged to a crooked and perverse generation. Cock-
fighting, badger-baiting, poaching, drinking, and dog-worrying
formed their sovereign delights; and they were so amazingly rude and
dangerous, that even tax collectors durst not, at times, go amongst
them for money. Men of this stamp would be much appreciated at
present. The population has thickened, and civilisation has
penetrated into the region since then; and yet the "animal"
preponderates rather largely in it now. Rats, pigeons, dogs, and
Saturday night eye openers--toned down with canary breeding, ale-
supping, herb-gathering, and Sunday afternoon baking--still retain a
mild hold upon the affections of the people, and many of the
youthful race are beginning to imitate their elders admirably in all
these little particulars. A pack of hounds was once kept for general
enjoyment in "New Preston;" but that pack has "gone to the dogs"--
hasn't been heard of for years.
During the past quarter of a century what missionary breakfast men
call a "great work" has been done by way of evangelising the people
in this quarter of the town; and very much of it has been achieved
through St. Mary's Church and schools. For a very long period the
schools in connection with St. Mary's have formed an excellent
auxiliary of the church. Prior to the erection of the church,
scholastic work was carried on in some cottages on the north side of
what is now termed New Hall-lane. The scholars were then in the care
of the Parish Church. When St. Paul's was erected they were handed
over to it. Afterwards, when St. Mary's was raised, a building was
provided for them in a street just opposite, which has undergone
many alterations and enlargements since, owing to the great increase
in the number of scholars. The principal room of the schools is the
largest in Preston, with one exception--the assembly room of the
Corn Exchange. A little cottage-house looking place, up New Hall-
lane, constitutes a "branch" of the schools. The average week-day
attendance is about 900; whilst on a Sunday the gathering of
scholars is about 1,200. At the schools, on Sundays, there are male
and female adult classes; and on week-days a number of earnest
mothers meet therein for the purposes of instruction, consolation,
and pious news-vending. At the schools--we shall get to the church
and Mr. Alker by and by, so be patient, if possible--there is a
"Church of England Institute," under whose auspices innocent games
are indulged in, and periodicals, &c. read. A Conservative
association, established to guard the constitutional interests of
Fishwick Ward, also holds its gatherings in one of the rooms. The
Rev. Robert Lamb, a very energetic man, and formerly incumbent of
St. Mary's, gave the first great impetus to the schools, which are
the largest of their kind in Preston. Mr. Lamb is now at St. Paul's,
Bennett-street, Manchester, and, singular to say, he has worked up
the schools of that church until they have become the greatest in
the city. The late T. Miller, Esq., was a warm friend of St. Mary's
schools, and, whenever any extensions were made at them, he always,
on having the plans and estimates submitted to him, defrayed one-
third of the expenses.
St. Mary's Church stands just at the rear of the Preston House of
Correction. That is better than standing inside such a grim
establishment--any site before the insite (oh) of a prison; and has
for its south western support the store-house of the Third Royal
Lancashire Militia. It forms one of the churches erected mainly
through the exertions of the late Rev. R. Carus Wilson; and like its
brethren is built in the Norman style of architecture, the designer
being Mr. John Latham. The first stone of the edifice was laid in
May, 1836; in 1838 the church was opened; and in 1853 it was
enlarged by the erection of a transept at the northern end. The late
John Smith, Esq., gave the site for it. The building is surrounded
by a graveyard, which might be kept in better order than it is. The
Rev. R. Lamb considerably impoverished himself in enclosing the
ground; and the Rev. H. R. Smith, one of the incumbents, afterwards
spent a sum of money in ornamenting it with shrubs, &c.; but nobody
cares much for it now, and Nature is permitted to follow her own
unfettered way in it. Formerly there was a road to the church from
the west, through some land adjoining the House of Correction; and
it was a great convenience to those living on that side of the town;
but for some reason it was closed; and one of the most roundabout
ways imaginable has been substituted for it. St. Mary's is one of
those churches which can be felt rather than seen. Until you get
quite to it you hardly know you are at it. Approaching it from the
west the first glimmering of it you have is over one end of the
House of Correction. At this point you catch what seems to be a
cluster of crosses--the surmountings of the tower; visions of a
ponderous cruet-stand, of five nine pins, and other cognate
articles, then strike you; afterwards the body of the church
broadens slowly into view, and having described three-fourths of a
wide circle with your feet, and passed through a strong gateway, it
is found you are at the building. St. Mary's has a strong, heavy,
compact appearance. Its front is arched below and storied above; it
has ivy creeping up its walls--trying probably to get to some of the
five nondescript ornaments above the tower--and has a half baronial,
half old hall look at first sight. Some years ago there was much ivy
about the general building; but the "rare old plant" engendered
dampness and had to be pulled down. At each side of the front there
is a small pinnacle, and flanking the gables of the transept there
are four somewhat similar elevations. They are mainly used by
sparrows.
The church can be approached by a doorway at the eastern end of the
transept; but the bulk of the worshippers pass through those at the
southern or front end--three in number, and rather heavy and dim in
appearance. The centre one leads into the body of the building, and
we may as well take advantage of it. We are just within; above there
is a serious looking groined roof, with a lamp suspended from the
middle of it; before us there is a screen, filled in with clear
glass, through which you can see the worshippers who seem thin and
scattered. Formerly the back of a sharply drawn up, dangerous
gallery, for scholars, over which careless children might have
fallen with the greatest ease, occupied the place of this screen,
and a series of hot water pipes--apparently intended for warming the
doorway and the churchyard in front, for they could have been of no
use to people inside the building--were fixed there. In 1866, when
the church was renovated, they were carried about fifteen yards into
the edifice, where they may be seen to this day. We sat close to
eight of them, with a top coat on, one Sunday evening, as a
compensation for being nearly starved to death in one of the back
side wings in the morning, and felt charmingly cooked at the end of
the service. On the left side of the central entrance, and near the
glass door and the screen, there is an elaborately carved box of
Gothic design, intended for missionary contributions; but it is
fixed in such a dim corner that nobody can see it. We have
recommended the beadle to place this box in a more prominent
position, for it is worth looking at as an ornament, even if nothing
is put into it. The aperture in the lid might be closed, and the box
could then be hung up beside the doorway lamp, so that its
proportions might be fairly realised. The interior of the church is
broad and lofty, but through its Norman configuration it is stiff
and coldly ponderous in effect. Massive bare walls, high narrow
windows, and a semi-sexagonal ceiling dependent upon rather ungainly
beams and rafters, like a series of hanging frames, chill you a
little; but on looking northward, to the end of the building, the
chancel and transept arches, which are strong and elegantly moulded,
relieve you, and as you advance the place seems to gradually assume
a finer and more imposing aspect.
The chancel has a calm, goodly look; is, in fact, the best part of
the building, architecturally speaking. At the base, there is an
archway of tablets, upon which nobody ever bestows very close
attention; above, there are three staple-shaped windows; and
surmounting all, there is a round recessed light, which can only be
seen through by people who sit in the gallery. On the left side of
the chancel, there are two windows. There is no stained glass in the
chancel. If the windows were adorned with it, and the walls more
cheerfully painted, a very beautiful effect would be produced. Five
different kinds of carpetting, all very well worn, deck the floor of
the chancel. Within the communion rails, there is a rich carpet, in
needlework, made by some of the members of the congregation, At each
side there is as antique chair, being part of the furniture in the
vestry which adjoins, and which was given by the Rev. H. R. Smith.
It consists altogether of ten pieces--including chairs, bookcase,
looking-glass, dressing-table, chest, &c., and is about 200 years
old. The only stained windows in the building are in the west
transept. They are four in number; two being of the merely
ornamental type, whilst the remainder are of the memorial order. At
the bottom of one of them there are these words--"In memory of Mary
Smith, born 1779, died 1845. Erected by Henry Robert Smith." At the
base of the other window there is this inscription:- "In memory of
John Smith, born 1773, died 1849. Erected by the church, 1855." The
deceased persons referred to were the parents of the Rev. H. R.
Smith, who, as already said, was a former incumbent of the church.
The ends of the transept are very dim, and sometimes you can hardy
tell who is sitting in them.
St. Mary's will accommodate 1,450 persons. The pews on the ground
floor, excepting a few free ones at the entrance and at the top of
the church, are all of the "closed" kind--have doors to them. When
the Church was renovated the pews were cut down about eight inches,
were remodelled, and thoroughly cleaned. Previously they were
painted, and had a gummy, sticky influence rearwards upon peoples
clothes. One or two bits of shawl fringe, &c., drawn off by the old
gluey paint still remain at the back of some of the seats
(notwithstanding the chemical cleansing they got), reminding one of
the saying of friend Billings, that "A thing well stuck iz stuck for
ever." The gas burners hang far down in pendant clusters from the
ceiling, and with their glass reflectors, which would cast off a
better light if cleaner, have a lamp-like effect, putting one in
mind, when lighted, of some Eastern mosque. The font is a prettily
shaped article, is made of fossil marble, and was given by the Rev.
Canon Parr and the wardens of the Parish Church, in which building
it once stood. It rests upon a platform of ornamental tiles bordered
with stone, and looks well. Above it is a carved wooden canopy
surmounted by a dove. The canopy is raised by a descending ball of
equal weight. When the ball falls the pigeon rises. In ordinary life
the ball rises when the pigeon falls; but this is not the case at
St. Mary's, although it amounts to the same thing in the end, for
after the pigeon has ascended three feet the ball descends upon its
back and settles the question.
At the southern end there is a large gallery, overshadowing the
noisiest galaxy of Sunday infants we ever encountered. There are
more infants at St. Mary's schools than at any other place in
Preston, and trouble, combined with vexation of spirit, must
consequently exist there in the same ratio. The bulk are kept from
the church; but a few manage to creep in, and when we saw them they
were having a very happy time of it. Some whistled a little--but
they seemed to be only learners and couldn't get on very well with
tunes; others tossed halfpennies about, a few operated upon the
floor with marbles, and all of them were exceedingly lively. The
gallery above is large, deep, and long; ingress to it is tortuous;
and strangers would have to inquire much before properly reaching
it. There is an old funeral bier in one part of it, and we have
failed to ascertain the precise object of the article. It is not
used when fainting fits are in season; it is never taken advantage
of in the case of people who fall asleep, and require carrying home
to bed; it seems to be neither useful nor ornamental; and it ought
to be either taken off to the cemetery and quietly inurned, or sold
to one of the sextons there.
In the gallery there is a large organ. It is a very respectable-
looking instrument, has a healthy musical interior, and is played
moderately. The members of the choir, to whom several people in the
bottom of the church look up periodically, as if trying to find out
either what they were doing or how they were dressed, are only in
embryo. They are new singers; but some of them have fair voices, and
in spite of occasional irregularity in tune and time, they get along
agreeably. The elements of a good choir are within them, and they
have only to persevere, in order to secure excellence, saying
nothing of medals, and other tokens of appreciation. The whole of
the seats in the gallery, generally used by scholars, are free.
St. Mary's is situated a district containing about 8,000 persons,
and as they are nearly entirely of the working class sort, the
congregation is naturally made up of similar materials. Including 14
militia staff men, the congregation will number, on an average,
without the scholars, about 500. More people appear to come late to
this church than to any other in Preston; they keep dropping in at
all times--particularly in a morning--up to within twenty minutes of
the finish; but they are connected with the schools, visit the
church after they have done duty there, and this accounts for their
lateness. The beadle of this church has the strongest, if not the
longest, official wand in the town, and he is very modest, blushing
occasionally, while carrying it.
The first incumbent of St. Mary's was the Rev. James Parker, a
relative of Councillor Parker, of Preston, who had to retire through
ill health. He exchanged livings with the Rev. W. Watson, of
Ellerburne, in Yorkshire, who required a more active sphere, and
found it at St. Mary's. Mr. Watson afterwards found higher
preferment, and went to the South of England. Then came the Rev.
Robert Lamb, who worked most vigorously in the district. He is now
rector of St. Paul's, Manchester. His successor was the Rev. Henry
Robert Smith, who, after staying a while, retired to St. Paul's, at
Grange, where he still labours. The next incumbent was the Rev.
George Alker, who came to St. Mary's in December, 1857. He is still
at the church; but we dare say he would be willing to leave it for a
rectory, if one were offered, with 500 pounds a year. Mr. Alker is
an Irishman, and is about 42 years of age. He is rather tall; is
genteelly fashioned, has good features, wears an elegantly-trimmed
pair of whiskers, has pompous, odorous, Pall Mall appearance, is
grandiose and special, looks like a nineteenth century Numa
Pompilius, would have made a spicey Pontifex Maximus, ought to have
lived in Persia, where he might have worn velvet slippers and been
fanned with peacock feathers, would have been a rare general
director of either fire-eaters or fire worshippers; is inclined to
run when he walks alone, and to be stately, slow, regal, and precise
when, like Fadladeen, he is in charge of Lalla Rookh. Is a man of
determination, and never sleeps with his clothes on. Is a sharp
debater, a briskly-pompous, eloquent talker, has had a good deal of
trouble at time and time in putting on his kid gloves, which used to
fit so mortally tight that he couldn't stir his thumbs in them;
stands with a fine commanding air in the pulpit, as if about to
shoulder arms; preaches extempore; says "my brethren" more
frequently in his sermons than any minister we ever heard; has a
clear, keen intellect; is dexterous, courageous, impassioned,
imperious; has a lofty, threepence-halfpenny majesty about him; has
been a hard worker, a stiff fighter, and a stinging public lecturer.
After leaving Ireland, he took a curacy in Liverpool. In 1857 he
accepted a similar post at St. Peter's, Preston. Here he organised a
class of young men, 800 strong, and whilst here he set the town on
fire with anti-Popery denunciation; and of him it might, at that
time, have been said--