Our Lady of the Annunciation Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

next to Bishop Eton Monastery in

Childwall Childwall () is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, in Merseyside, 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. ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. It was built from 1857 to 1858 by the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...

and was designed by E. W. Pugin. It is on the Woolton Road, opposite the Hope Park campus of

Liverpool Hope University Liverpool Hope University (abbreviated LHU) is a public university with campuses in Liverpool, England. ‌The university grew out of three Normal school#United Kingdom, teacher training colleges: Saint Katharine's College (originally Warring ...

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

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

Foundation

The building housing the Bishop Eton monastery was built in 1776. It was intended by its owner,

Unitarian minister Unitarianism () is a nontrinitarian sect of Christianity. Unitarian Christians affirm the unitary nature of God as the singular and unique creator of the universe, believe that Jesus Christ was inspired by God in his moral teachings and that ...

Hezekiah Kirkpatrick, to be a school that would rival

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

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

priests and cousins,

James Sharples James Sharples may refer to: * James Sharples (portrait painter) (1751/52–1811), English portrait painter and pastelist * James Sharples (blacksmith) (1825–1893), English blacksmith and self-taught artist and engraver * James Sharples (cricket ...

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 * Ge ...

. 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 n ...

. 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 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

. 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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

, 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, E. W. Pugin. 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 religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

, 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, accesse ...

and

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

, 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, lychg ...

. 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 St Mary's Church is in Church Road, Woolton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is an active Roman Catholic parish church in the Inland Family of Parishes of the Liverpool South Deanery situated in the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The church is ...

, which they continue to do.

Parish

As the Redemptorists at Bishop Eton serve both parishes of

and Our Lady of the Annunciation Church, the Masses at both do not happen at the same time. Sunday Masses are at 8:30am, 10.00am and 6.00pm at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church and at 11:00am at St Mary's Church, Woolton (Vigil Mass Saturday 5.30pm at St Mary's) . 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