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
The church has an imposing, a noble interior. It is wide, lofty, has
a fine calm majestic look, and is excellently arranged. The nave,
which is 69 feet high, is supported by 14 stone pillars. From nearly
any point every part of the building may be seen; the nave pillars,
do not, as is the case in some churches, obstruct the vision; and
everything seems easy, clear, and open. In the daytime a rich
shadowy light is thrown into the church by the excellent disposition
of its windows; at eventide the sheen of the setting sun, caught by
the western window, falls like a bright flood down the nave, and
makes the scene beautiful. The high altar is a fine piece of
workmanship; is of Gothic design, is richly carved, is ornamented
with marbles, has a canopy of most elaborate construction, and is in
good harmony with the general architecture. Two small altars are
near it. One of them, dedicated to St. Joseph, and given by Mr. J.
Pyke, of this town, is particularly handsome; the other, dedicated
to the Blessed Virgin, is of a less costly, though very pretty,
character. Near one of the pillars on the north-eastern side there
stands a square wooden frame, which is called the pulpit. It is a
deliciously primitive and remarkably common-place concern; but it is
strong enough, and will have to stop where it is until money for
something better is raised. There are sittings in the church for 850
persons. On Sundays there are masses at eight, and half-past nine; a
regular service at eleven, and another at half-past six in the
evening. The aggregate attendance during the day is about 1,350. The
assemblage at the first mass is thin; at the second it is good--
better than at any other time; at eleven it is pretty numerous; and
in the evening it is fair. Adults and children from the union
workhouse, of the Catholic persuasion, attend the eleven o'clock
service; and they come in tolerable force--sometimes they number
100.
The general congregation consists nearly altogether of working class
people, and it includes some of the best sleepers we have seen. The
members of the choir sit in a gallery at the western end. Their
performances are of a curious description. Sometimes they sing very
well--are quite exact in their renderings and decidedly harmonious;
at other times they torture the music somewhat. But then they are
young at the business, haven't had so much experience, and have
nothing to rely upon in the shape of instrumental music except the
hard tones of an ordinary harmonium. Organ accompaniments help up
good choirs and materially drown the defects of bad ones. With
better instrumental assistance, the singers at the Church of the
English Martyrs would acquit themselves more satisfactorily, and
with additional practice they would still further improve matters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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