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architecture in its last phase, before it
was superseded by the Renaissance style.
In 1818 the aisles were enlarged and the
north and south walls, windows and doors
were made. Another interesting feature
is the font, which is very old and
appears to have been the original one. It
was later discarded in favour of a
handsome marble font, presented by Daniel
Willis, of Halsnead, in 1755. Eventually,
after being used in Roby Church, the old
font was restored to its present place,
and the marble font now stands by the
organ chamber.
The
chancel is rich in black oak for the
panelling, altar rails, and choir stalls,
which are richly carved and dated 1636.
Eleven of the stalls have misericord
seats, a very unusual thing in parish
churches. On the north side of the
chancel stands an effigy, life-size, of
John Ogle, a member of a prominent local
family, who died in 1612. He was the
donor of the very fine chair, dated 1610,
which stands close by. By the effigy is
an ancient poor-box. The graceful screen
was dedicated in 1921 in memory of the
men of Prescot who fell in the 1914-18
war, and the beautiful reredos, in dark
oak, was presented by Mrs. E. G. Evans in
1891. The choir vestry was built in 1900.
PRESCOT
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. The old
Non-conformist Church at Prescot was
erected in 1756, and several families and
individuals, at that time attending
church at St. Helens, but whose residence
was in or near Prescot, for the greater
convenience of themselves and their
families left the ministry of Mr. Mercer
for that of Mr. Holland, the then
minister of Prescot. The work at Prescot
thus dates from February 29th, 1756, the
number of members then being seventy-six.
The foundation stone of the Ebenezer
Chapel was laid on July 30th, 1811, by
Rev. Thomas Spencer of Liverpool. The
land had not been legally conveyed to the
Trustees, and it was not until 1860 that
this matter was settled and a Deed of
Enfranchisement was procured from the
Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, who
were Lords of the Manor of Prescot. In
1868 movements were made towards the
building of the present church in
Aspinall Street. At a church meeting on
October 6th, 1874, Mr. Prescott reported
that the land had been purchased from Mr.
Aspinall for the site of the new church.
On the 16th August. 1877, the foundation
stone of the present church was laid by
Major W. W. Pilkington. J.P., of St.
Helens. In connection with the church at
the present time there is a very active
Amateur Dramatic Society, a Ladies'
Guild, and Parents Association.
THE
METHODIST CHURCH . The Rev. John Wesley
passed through the town on his way to
Warrington in 1757. The only reference in
his Journal is under the date 10th April.
1768 (Sunday) when he attended the Parish
Church and afterwards preached in the
open air. About the year 1770 one of
Wesley's itinerants took his stand on the
fish-stones which were around the prison
in the Market Place, and there preached
to the crowd which gathered. Later, the
first group met in the Tan Yard,
afterwards known as Pottery Place, in
Kernble Street, and subsequently removed
to the "Long Room" in Eccleston
Street. A more commodious building was
later acquired in Houghton Street (now
the Church of England Day School). This
old chapel becoming inadequate, land was
acquired in Eccleston Street, and. in
1S37, a Gothic-style building of hewn
stone, capable of accommodating 500
persons, was erected, and is still used
as a Sunday School. At the end of the
19th century, the Trustees acquired the
old Unitarian Chapel in Atherton Street.
This served as a Mission Hall until 1910
when the present church, accommodating
about 750 persons, was erected.
ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH. Dedicated to Our Lady
Immaculate and St. Joseph, the Roman
Catholic Church in Vicarage Place was
erected in 1856, and is a stone building
in the Gothic style, consisting of a
chancel, nave, transepts and a tower
containing one bell. Also St. Luke's
Roman Catholic Church. Shaw Lane.
Prescot.
OTHER
CHURCHES in the town include St. Paul's
Church (C.E.), Bryer Estate, Zion
Independent Methodist Church, the Welsh
Congregational Church in Warrington Road,
the Salvation Army Hall in Warrington
Road, and the Bethel Church. Evans
Street.
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