Our Churches and Chapels: Their Parsons, Priests, & Congregations: Being a Critical and Historical Account of Every Place of Worship in PrestonAtticus
History
Our Churches and Chapels: Their Parsons, Priests, & Congregations: Being a Critical and Historical Account of Every Place of Worship in Preston
Atticus
Preston (Lancashire, England) -- Church history
Saints--was laid by the late Thomas German, Esq., who was mayor of
Preston at that time. The building, which cost about 2,600 pounds,
was not consecrated till December, 1856, but it was ministerially
occupied by the Rev. W. Walling on the 23rd September, 1848, and he
held his post, earning the respect and esteem of all in the
discharge of its duties, till October 10th, 1863, when death
suddenly ended his labours. When the church was consecrated there
was a debt of about 750 pounds upon it; but in a few years, by the
judicious and energetic action of the trustees, it was entirely
cleared off. The present trustees of the church are Dr. Hall,
Messrs. J. R. Ambler, F. Mitchell, and W. Fort. The successor of the
Rev. W. Walling was the Rev. G. Beardsell, who still occupies the
situation; but before saying anything to the point concerning him we
must describe the church and its concomitants.
All Saints' is a good substantial-looking church. It is built in the
Ionic style of Greek architecture; has a massive pillared front; is
railed round, has an easy and respectable entrance, and--getting
worse as it gets higher--is surmounted with a small bell turret and
a chimney. Other things may be put upon the roof after a while, for
space is abundant there. The church has a square, respectable,
capacious interior--is roomy, airy, light; doesn't seem thrown
together in a dim foggy labrynth like some places, and you feel as
if you could breathe freely on taking a seat in it. It is well-
galleried, and will accommodate altogether about 1,500 human beings.
The pews are good, and whilst it is impossible for them to hold more
people than can get into them, they are charged for as if one
additional person could take a seat in each after being full! This
is odd but quite true. In the case of pews which will just
accommodate five persons, six sittings are charged for; those
holding four are put down in the rent book for five; and this scale
of charges is kept up in respect to all the pews, whether big or
little. The rents go into the pocket of the incumbent. At the
southern end there is a small chancel, which was erected at the
expense of the late J. Bairstow, Esq. It is ornamented with several
stained glass windows, and has an inlaid wooden canopy, but there is
nothing startling nor remarkable about the work. Beneath the windows
there is painted in large, letters the word "Emmanuel;" but the
position of it is very inconvenient. People sitting above may see
the name fairly; but many below have a difficulty in grasping it,
and those sitting in the centre will never be able to get hold of
more letters than those which makeup the mild name of "Emma." Names-
-particularly great ones--should never be put up anywhere unless
they can be seen. On each side of the chancel arch then is a small
tablet; one being to the memory of the Rev. W. Walling, and the
other to that of the late W. Tuson, Esq., who was one of the
original wardens.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account