Brief Early History of St Barnabas' Church

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"Tin cathedral", the original St Barnabas District Church, Smithdown Rd, Toxteth Park

(image courtesy of Paul Christian of www.toxteth.net  web site)

The early history of St Barnabas, Mossley Hill is really that of SS  Matthew and James, Mossley Hill, Liverpool.

SS Matthew and James church was totally financed by the bequest in the 1868  will of its benefactor, a  wealthy Liverpool merchant,  one Matthew James Glenton on the understanding that the church should be built in the township of Garston. In the event, the church was built on the very boundary of Garston township  with  the Wavertree township on the crest of Mossley Hill. It seems this was a site he had appreciated many years earlier as a possible site for a new church.  It was consecrated on  23rd June 1875 as SS Matthew and James. The church was  actually located  within the parish of St Anne Aigburth, a district of Garston township, but drew its congregation from whole area around Mossley Hill  including the adjoining townships of Allerton and Wavertree.

Until the absorption of Garston township into Liverpool in 1905, St Matthew and James church  continued to be located in Garston but its parish was spread over parts of the townships of Garston,  Wavertree and Toxteth Park.  The latter two townships having been absorbed into Liverpool in 1896

Soon with  the population growth around the Smithdown Rd, Penny Lane and Allerton Rd areas, it was realised that a new church was needed. In 1900 arrangements were made by the church council of SS Matthew and James to purchase  for £3030 the non denominational Calvary church on Smithdown  Rd from the executors of Mr Bramley-Moore.  Generous benefactors included The Misses Ashton ( £1100), Robert Singlehurst of Aigburth Hall Rd ( £1000) and James Harrison ( £500).  This became the first St Barnabas church and was affectionately known as the "Tin Cathedral". It's likely it was supplied by Francis Morton & Co, of Garston who specialised in building prefabricated church structures. An additional £310 was spent installing a Norman and Beard, hand blown, organ. The iron church, under the title St Barnabas Mossley Hill, was dedicated on St Peter's Day ( June  29th), 1900 as the chapel of ease to SS Matthew and James, Mossley Hill. The church could seat 600 people.

The new church occupied the site bounded by Smithdown Rd, Cramond Ave and Blenheim Rd. It had the disadvantage of being directly opposite the electric tramcar depot on Smithdown Rd and the associated refuse incinerator used to generate electricity for the tramway system. So it was both a noisy and smelly location ! Click on thumbnail image below for a detailed map of the original St Barnabas District Church on the edge of Toxteth Park (  red dots denote the boundary):

Location of original St Barnabas iron church

(Map courtesy of Paul Christian of www.toxteth.net web site)

The first curate in charge was Rev Robert B de Wolf who ministered from 1900 to 1904 and lived at 101 Penny Lane. Many of the early  St Barnabas church council meetings were held at that address. Rev. de Wolf proved to be a very effective minister and  a parochial hall was soon needed to further the work of the Church including the accommodation  of the large Sunday school. The Parochial Hall, completed in 1904 at an initial cost of £1175, was built on spare land immediately behind St Barnabas and can be seen in the coloured postcard image above. The foundation stone was laid by Miss Singlehurst. In may ways the Parochial Hall was a memorial to the work of Rev. de Wolf who resigned his post in the spring of 1904. The building still survives and is now used as a public house, Fogherty's :

Original St Barnabas  Parochial Hall, Blenheim St, Mossley Hill Liverpool L18

It is clear from the outset that the iron church St Barnabas was considered as a temporary expedient only and consideration was being given at an early stage to the construction of a permanent building.  The site of the present St Barnabas was decided in October 1901. It occupies a small portion of land that was once the entrance to the  Elm Hall estate which bordered Allerton Rd, Mossley Hill and  which included its gatehouse. Elm Hall is of course remembered in the modern street name Elm Hall Drive

Rev Robert de Wolf 1900-1904 & Rev. James Kirk Pike 1904-1929 

Rev. Robert de Wolf  was succeeded as curate in charge by Rev. James Kirk Pike who took up his post in June 1904.  A scheme for the building of the new St Barnabas church was launched in late April 1911 under the sponsorship of the Lord  Bishop of Liverpool, Rev. Dr F. Chavasse and the Lord Bishop of Carlisle,  Rev  J W Diggle. (Rev. Diggle had been the first vicar of SS Matthew and James church, Mossley Hill before leaving to take up other posts in 1897.) In April 1912, the plans and designs of the well known Liverpool architect  James Francis Doyle were accepted and construction work begun. Other well known local churches designed by Mr Doyle include St Nicholas, Wallasey, Cheshire and SS Mary and Helen, Neston, Cheshire. Originally sanction was only given to construct the nave, aisles and transept.  Following J F Doyle's untimely death in 1912, the construction of St Barnabas  new church continued under the control of his brother and fellow architect, Sidney Doyle. 

St Barnabas 1912 Foundation stone

Click on thumbnail above for full size image

The foundation stone laying ceremony took place on June 11th, 1912 ( St Barnabas day). In the absence of Miss Singlehurst due to the ill health of her father Robert Singlehurst, the stone was laid by Mrs Harford, wife of the Vicar of SS Matthew and James, Mossley Hill.

The Singlehurst family up to this point were the principal benefactors (£3,700) to the new Church. Mr Robert Singlehurst , a widower, died on 17th June 1912 and as a memorial, his daughters offered the  further sum of £11,300 in December 1912  to complete the building work.  Thus in many ways, St Barnabas new church may be regarded as the Singlehurst memorial church. Robert Singlehurst was a Brazil Merchant and ship-owner born 1821 in Liverpool and lived for many years at Endfield, Aigburth Hall Rd, Garston. The new St Barnabas was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Liverpool, Dr Chavasse, on 21st Feb 1914 and on St Barnabas day, 1914,  a dedication service of the vicarage and completed tower was held.  The total cost was some £24,224 of which the Singlehurst family contributed £15,000.  The only cost falling on the parishioners was the funding of the purchase of land for the new church and vicarage, some £1660. 

With the completion of the new St Barnabas, Rev James Kirk Pike became the first Vicar of St Barnabas, Mossley Hill.

 The parish was not to know it but 1914 was to prove a momentous year with the outbreak of World War 1. Sadly many parishioners died in this war including two sons of the vicar. There is a fine memorial sited in the Narthex to those who died  in WW1. This is dealt with in another section, click here more information

Following completion of the new St Barnabas Parish church, the site of the old St Barnabas was sold to the Liverpool Co-operative Society who built  a combined shopping complex and meeting hall on the site. The hall was known as the Holyoake Hall.  In later years this became the location of the Wavertree and Childwall British Legion club. Part of the site is now occupied by an Islamic Institute and Mosque

Following the opening of the new St Barnabas Church, Grove House on Penny Lane was purchased  from the trustees of the "Home for Incurable Children" as a new Parochial Hall and Sunday School. It fulfilled this valuable community function for many years before finally being sold in 1965 and is now called Dovedale Towers, a striking white building sited on Grove Mount Playing fields. 

Old St Barnabas Hall (mark 2) Penny Lane Mossley Hill

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