- St Anthony's Church, Scotland Road
St Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, is on
Scotland Road in the Vauxhall area ofLiverpool .History
In 1806, the French Chapel was built on the corner of Dryden Street and Scotland Road. James Picton described it as 'a little quaint-looking brick building, surmounted by a cross, with a modest residence by its side.' It was founded by the Reverend Jean Baptiste Antoinet Gerardot, an emigré from the French Revolution of 1789, and Freddy O'Connor makes the interesting point that during the NapoleonicWars 'French prisoners of war would have attended the church under supervision from the Borough Jail in Great Howard Street. Gerardot died in 1826, but his ministry was so successful that, by the late 1820s, a larger church was needed.
The famous Liverpool church of St Anthony's, Scotland Road, was built in 1833 and designed by John Broadbent. He was a pupil of Thomas Rickman (as for a time was Arthur Hill Holme) who also designed the tower of St Mary's Walton and the Classical church of St Augustine's on Shaw Street. At St Anthony's, Broadbent built a simple if not severe church with Early English buttresses and lancet windows anda surprisingly large interior. The church has a commanding presence on Scotland Road, and even the dour James Picton acknowledged that 'the building is imposing from its size and proportions'.
In April 2008 a fire occurred within St Anthony's when it is thought it had started with a 3ft candle that was left burning overnight bent over and fell to the floor. The church survived although it had been described as a huge job to restore [ [http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2008/04/10/blaze-hit-liverpool-church-to-stay-shut-for-weeks-64375-20744115/ Liverpool Daily Post report.] ] . The church only reopened on July 13th with a morning mass by parish priest Fr Graeme Dunne.
Local events
In November 2007, St Anthony's crypt hosted a beer festival, [ [http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/story/?trs=gbojeymh Irish Post November 7 2007 Church crypt plays host to beer festival Accessed 10 August 2008] ] and a further festival is planned for 18 - 20 September 2008 [ [http://www.merseyale.com/assets/applets/08_06_MerseyAleJune08.pdf Ales from Another Crypt, page 8 Merseyale Summer 2008 Accessed 10 August 2008] ]
References
External links
* [http://www.scottiepress.org/gallery/anthonys.htm Scottie Press: St Anthony's Church]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hibernia/churches/anttn.htm Thumbnail Pictures of St Anthony's]
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