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Although not actually within toxteth, this was located in the triangle of land bounded by Crown St, Upper Parliament Street and Smithdown lane. It actually stood in the angle of Dinorben Street / Pine Grove and Oliver Street. It was quite prominent from Upper Parliament Street and that is the address usually used for the church. Locating the church has been complicated by the fact that this area was called ‘Windsor’ and a
confusion with Windsor Street (which is not close) exists in some sources.
It was designed by David Walker and opened its doors in 1869 as a mission church. In the 19th C it was a strongly Protestant church. It was a daughter church of St Clements, Beaumont Street which was also in the Windsor area of south Liverpool. At the time of
its consecration, on 17th July, records indicate that it had no flagged floor, no fence, no gallery, no organ and the walls were still bare brick.
In time it came to be a much admired church. James Picton, who appears to have had little nice to say about any of the churches on which he reported, considered it 'noble, dignified and effective, built of simple materials'. Others shared his admiration.
The original church burnt down around 1900 and was rebuilt to designs by G. Bradbury, re-opening in 1904. It was closed in the rationalisation of the 1960s and 1970s when the surrounding terraces were flattened to be replaced by ill thought out, council housing which was itself demolished within twenty years. The church actually
survived these ravages but was finally demolished in 1993, though I believe it had been derelict for some years before that.
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