St James’s Church, Liverpool

St James’s Church in Toxteth was built in 1774 on the Toxteth Park estate of the Earl of Sefton. The architect was Cuthbert Bisbrown, a Liverpool surveyor-builder who promoted a scheme for laying out several new streets on the estate in the early 1770s, with St James’s as the focal point. Bisbrown’s estate-development scheme was unsuccessful and he was declared bankrupt in 1776, having built only a few houses and the church of St James. The church is now the only memorial to his ambitions, and probably the only building by him which still survives.

Commissioned by the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), AHP provided a report detailing St James’s historic origins, development and alterations. Our report also provided an assessment of the building’s significance. Declared redundant in 1974 but listed grade II*, the church – in a long-depressed area which is only now beginning to benefit from efforts to regenerate the centre of the city – has suffered from theft and vandalism, and its once-impressive churchyard is in a state of disarray.

The CCT, a charity set up to care for redundant grade I or grade II* Church of England churches, is part-funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Church Commissioners. Using AHP’s historical report, it is hoped that the CCT may be able to restore St James’s Church so that it can once again provide a contribution to Toxteth’s historic streetscape.

Public

Central Fire Station, Birmingham ›
Manchester Square Fire Station, London ›

Commercial

203-221 Regent Street, London ›
Bolton Market Hall, Lancashire ›

Town

7 St James’s Square, Westminster ›
9 & 11 Duke Street, London ›

Country

New Lodge, Windsor ›
Plas Newydd, Anglesey ›

Ecclesiastical

St George’s Church, Bloomsbury ›
St James’s Church, Liverpool ›