Looking at Buildings

, printed from the Looking at Buildings website on Friday 29th March 2024

St George, Everton

closeGlossary Term [1] to the executed building, but these could have been designed by Cragg before Gandy's involvement. Certainly Cragg had already cast some components before Rickman appeared on the scene.

The exterior is largely of stone, the style Perp. High W tower with pierced battlements (original?). Large Perp three-lightGlossary Term [2] windows along the sides, with cast-iron traceryGlossary Term [3]. The buttresses between had cast-iron pinnacles, now removed. Six-lightGlossary Term [4] E window in short embattledGlossary Term [5] chancelGlossary Term [6]. The galleried interior is a delightful surprise, extraordinarily lightGlossary Term [7] and delicate due to the use of cast ironGlossary Term [8] throughout. Slender clustered columns divide naveGlossary Term [9] from aisles. Traceried arches span between the columns to support the naveGlossary Term [10] ceiling, and between the columns and the outer wall to carry the flat ceilings over the aisles (the tie-rods are a 20th century insertion). Further traceried arches support the galleries, which cut across the windows. The ceilings are of slate slabs slotted between the cast-iron raftersGlossary Term [11], with cast-iron traceryGlossary Term [12] on the underside. Thicker slabs of slate attached to the upper edge of the raftersGlossary Term [13] form the roof - a system patented by Cragg in 1809. Monuments. Under the tower, John Rackham, d. 1815, a tablet with an ambitious Dec GothicGlossary Term [14] surround, designed by Rickman and carved by S. & J. Franceys. - In the S galleryGlossary Term [15], Thomas W. Wainwright (a surgeon), d. 1841, with a relief of the Good Samaritan by W. Spence. - In the N galleryGlossary Term [16], Walter Fergus MacGregor, d. 1863, an elaborate GothicGlossary Term [17] tabernacleGlossary Term [18] incorporating a portrait roundel, by E.E. Geflowski. - Stained glass mostly destroyed in the war. The third window on the N is the only complete survivor, 1863, by A. Gibbs. E window 1952, by Shrigley & Hunt."

Last updated: Monday, 26th January 2009