Our Lady of the Annunciation Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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, ...

next to Bishop Eton Monastery in

Childwall Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, located to the southeast of the city. It is bordered by Belle Vale, Bowring Park, Broadgreen, Gateacre, Mossley Hill, and Wavertree. In 2019, the population was 13,640. Overview The earli ...

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 ...

. It was built from 1857 to 1858 by the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

and was designed by

E. W. Pugin Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was ...

. It is on the Woolton Road, opposite the Hope Park campus of

Liverpool Hope University , mottoeng=Hope to all who need it , established=1844 – Saint Katharine's College (as Warrington Training College)1856 – Notre Dame College (as Our Lady's Training College)1964 – Christ's College1979 – Liverpool Institute of Higher Edu ...

and close to Our Lady's Bishop Eton Primary School. It is a 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 ...

History

Foundation

The building housing the Bishop Eton monastery was built in 1776. It was intended by its owner, Unitarian minister Hezekiah Kirkpatrick, to be a school that would rival

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. After the closure of the school, it became a private residence. In 1843, the building was bought for two Catholic priests and cousins

James Sharples James Sharples (1751 or 1752, in Lancashire – 26 February 1811, in New York City) was an English portrait painter and pastelist, who moved to the United States in 1794. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1779. Life James was firs ...

and

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

. Sharples would become the bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Lancashire District and Brown would become the first Catholic

Bishop of Liverpool The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese stretches from Southport in the no ...

. As they were bishops, the building was called Bishops' Eton. They built a chapel next to the building. It was designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

. In 1851, after the death of Sharples a year earlier, the

were invited to buy the house, and it became a community of Redemptorist priests, Bishop Eton Monastery.Taking Stock
Liverpool (Woolton Road) – Our Lady of the Annunciation
from

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

, retrieved 7 April 2021

Construction

In 1857 the Redemptorists replaced the chapel with Our Lady of the Annunciation Church. It was built from 1857 to 1858 and designed by Pugin's son,

. In 1865 and 1866 further additions were made to the church. A

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

and

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

, both designed by

John Francis Bentley John Francis Bentley (30 January 1839 – 2 March 1902) was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London, England, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture. Life Bentley ...

, were installed. He also designed the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

and

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

, which was installed in 1889. The stained glass in the west window was designed by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lichg ...

. The stained glass in the north chapel depicting Our Lady of the Annunciation was made by Hardman & Co.

Developments

In 1961, the church became a

. In 1973 a fire destroyed part of the church. In 2011, the Redemptorists were asked to serve the nearby parish of St Mary's Church, Woolton, which they continue to do.

Parish

As the Redemptorists at Bishop Eton serve both parishes of St Mary's Church, Woolton and Our Lady of the Annunciation Church, the Masses at both do not happen at the same time. There is a Sunday Mass at 9:30am at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church and a Sunday Mass at 11:00am at St Mary's Church, Woolton. The parish is also linked with the nearby Our Lady's Bishop Eton Primary School.Catholic Life
from Our Lady's Bishop Eton Primary School, retrieved 7 April 2021

Exterior and grounds

File:Bishop Eton Monastery , Childwall- geograph.org.uk - 39249.jpg, Bishop Eton Monastery File:Bishop Eton Church entrance, Liverpool.jpg, Entrance File:Bishop Eton Church, Liverpool.jpg, Church and war memorial

References

External links

* * {{Redemptorists in Britain Grade II* listed buildings in Liverpool Grade II* listed churches in Merseyside Roman Catholic churches in Liverpool Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Merseyside Roman Catholic churches completed in 1858 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Redemptorist churches in the United Kingdom