The Church of St Anne is in Aigburth Road,

Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth. Etymology The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

as a designated Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and is an active

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

diocese of Liverpool The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey, part of West Lancashire, part of Wigan in Greater Manchester, Widnes and part of Warrington and in Cheshire (it was origi ...

, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of Liverpool South Childwall. Its architecture is an early example of the Norman Revival style.

History

The church was built in 1836–37 to a design by

Cunningham Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people sharing this surname A–C * Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player *Abe Cunningham, American drummer * Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...

& Holme. It was founded by a group of local merchants, John Moss, Charles Stewart Parker, John Abraham Tinne and Josias Booker and was consecrated in 1837. In 1853–54 broad

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s were added and the chancel was extended. The north and south galleries were removed in 1893–94 and in 1913–14 the chancel was further extended. The church was damaged in an

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attack by

Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

s on 16 December 1913. The altar and choir stalls were burned during a period when this movement to obtain votes for women was increasingly militant.

Architecture

The church is built in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone with a slate roof in Norman Revival style. Its plan consists of a west tower flanked by a

baptistry In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

to the north and a stair bay to the south, a four-bay nave, north and south transepts, and a three-bay chancel with the organ loft to the north and a vestry to the south. The round-headed entrance is in the base of the tower with blind arcading and a diapered

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

above it. Over this is a clock face surrounded by a large rose motif. The tower has paired two-light bell openings on each face over which is a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

with

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s and a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

with blind arcading. The east window consists of three lancets and a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

. The west gallery is still present as are the galleries in the transepts.

External features

The gate

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

are listed at Grade II. There are two pairs of gate piers, which are made in stone, and are also Norman Revival in style. They are octagonal, with features including arcading,

s, and

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

Community

The church adjoins

St Margaret's Church of England Academy St Margaret's Church of England Academy is a secondary school for boys (with a mixed sixth form) in Aigburth, Liverpool, England. It is frequently shortened to SMA. Admissions The school accepts 160 boys per year, and girls are accepted in ...

and is used at times as the venue for carol and other services.

Images

File:St Anne's Church, Aigburth, eastern gatepiers.jpg, Grade II listed gatepiers File:Nave of St Anne's, Aigburth 1.jpg, Looking along the nave towards the chancel File:Nave of St Anne's, Aigburth 2.jpg, Looking along the nave towards the west end File:East window of St Anne's Aigburth 2.jpg, Circular part of the east window File:Sanctuary window of St Anne's Aigburth.jpg, Sanctuary window showing Jesus cleansing the leper File:Grotesque relief, St Anne's Aigburth 2.jpg, Carving of a grotesque on the west end

References