Dear Scottie Press, This is my First Holy Communion photograph, taken on 29th May 1954 at St Alphonsus. This group were the first children in the new infants school in Great Mersey Street. Our teachers name was Miss O'Connor and the head teacher was Sister Louise. Father Winder was a regular visitor to our new school. Notice how many girls were in the class and that was only the girls. We were all born un 1946/47. Some of the names on the photo were Eileen Dempsey, Joan Lloyd, Irene Furlong, Marie McFarland, Margaret Ryan, Helen Riely, Helen Whitingham, Mary Motrom, Vera O'Toole, Frances Murphy, Rose Moore, Ann Murphy, and myself Mary Molloy. I hope the photo will bring back memories to those pictured. MARY WRIGLEY
We thank Margaret Bibby for sending these photographs of St Alphonsus Parish.
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MEMORIES OF MAJOR STREET SCHOOL
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Our thanks go to Tony Roberts who has provided four photographs of school boys attending Major Street School in the 1950s. We welcome hearing from readers who might be able to recognise faces on the photographs and tell us more about the when and why the photos were taken.
email ronformby@scottiepress.org
Dear Scottie Press, I send you a photograph taken at St Alphonsus Church. It pictures my mother Nora McInerney and my father Joe Chamberlain who were married at St Alphonsus Church in October 1929. VALERIE GRUE.
We feature above the St Alphonsus Football Club - Team photo taken as Gill Cup Winners in 1986-1987.
ST ALPHONSUS BOYS TEAM 1920
We thank John McQuiggan for sending this photograph which pictures a successful St Alphonsus Boys Football Team who in 1920 were pictured as 'Champions'. We would like to hear from readers who may be able to name the faces on the photograph as the only name we have is that of FATHER KIERAN. We would also like to hear from readers who may be able to advise the paper what 'Championship' the boys football team had won.
Our thanks go to Mr Richard Hayes for providing this webpage with two photographs taken in Lamb Street. The first picture shows residents of the street gathered together in 1927 to celebrate Canon Pinnington's Silver Jubilee.
The second photograph shows residents of Lamb Street gathered together in 1956 to celebrated Father Winder's Silver Jubilee.
Mr Hayes was born (1924) in 110 Lamb Street and lived there until 1937 when he went to live in Bootle. Mr Hayes remained a regular visitor to Lamb Street and took a keen interest in events and activities surrounding St Alphonsus Parish.
Archive information for the parish of St Alphonsus comes from a booklet printed in 1978 to mark the 100th anniversary of the parish, which was formed in 1878 by Fr Edward Birchall who became the first parish priest. His first task was to procure premises that could be used as a church. He purchased a disused Masonic Hall in Kirkdale Road and on 1st February, 1878 Mass was celebrated there for the first time. He made his presbytery at 27 Great Mersey Street and later moved across to 52 Great Mersey Street. He had as assistant curates Fr Thomas Grimes and Fr Thomas Smith. The parish boundaries extended from Netherfield Road to Commercial Road and from Athol Street to Lambeth Road. In 1887 Fr Birchall purchased land for a church, school and presbytery. The need for a school was urgent and preparations were soon in hand for a suitable building to be erected. Fr Birchall was not to see his labours rewarded for he died in 1888 and Fr Pinnington became parish priest on 2nd June of that year. On 19th August 1888 Bishop O'Reilly laid the foundation stone, and on 12th August 1889 the school was officially opened. Within a few years it became evident that the new school was grossly overcrowded with 1,200 children occupying the premises, so Fr Pinnington decided that he solution was to erect a separate infants' school. The foundation stone for this school was laid in 1893.
At this time parish statistics show the population of the parish was 5,498 consisting of 1308 families, the numbers of people in Arlington Street alone amounted to 1,000 which conveys some idea of the grossly over-crowded conditions that people were forced to tolerate. By 1906 the parish population was 6,138 and the church was deemed to be inadequate for the needs of the people. Fr Pinnington who was appointed as Canon of the diocese in 1910 was able to procure a site for a new church in Great Mersey Street, which was opened on 8th December 1911 by Bishop Whiteside. A new chapel and baptistry was added in 1917. This new chapel within a very short time became a memorial chapel commemorating those many hundreds of men killed in the First World War, commemorative plaques with their names adorning the walls. St Alphonsus parish celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1928 and a magnificent organ was purchased for the church. Canon Pinnington died in 1932 having served the parish with love and loyalty for 44 years.
We will be adding information about St Alphonsus Parish to this archive webpage and we welcome hearing from readers who may wish to add their memories and photographs. As part of a programme of 'Pastoral Regeneration' it was decided to close St Alphonsus Church in 2001. On Thursday 21st June 2001 a 'Mass Of Thanksgiving' was celebrated at the church by Archbishop Patrick Kelly. You can read more about this Mass and the closure of the church by visiting our projects webpage 'Pastoral Regeneration'.
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Dear Scottie Press, I have many fond memories of growing up in St Alphonsus Parish, being born in Vesuvius Street of Back Great Mersey Street. My memories are retained of walking along Stanley Road to Daisy Street primary school, and then later on going onto Major Street School, a school in which my Mum was the cleaners. Many was the time I was kept back after school to pull out the benches to enable me Mam and my Aunty Cissie to clean floors. Frank Lane, Mr Ainsworth and Mr Wareing used to often collar me for this.
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Many fond memories are help of priests, I think I had my first experience of Ecumenical work when Canon Fitzpatrick used to ask me to wash his car and the vicars car who I think lived further down Great Mersey Street between Sloans House who used to have the Greengrocers and their house ran right through to Back Great Mersey Street where their shop and depot was for the wagons.
One of the teachers from Daisy Street school lived just by Sloans in Great Mersey Street, Miss Hannah. I will always remember she used to have blue in her hair. Many a happy time was had in the CYMS rooms next to the presbytery at the top of Great Mersey Street, I think the Pybus family lived next door with the Mullin family. Across the road from the CYMS was Charlie Bailey's Pub. Chara trips used to be arranged to Blackpool from Charlie Bailey's Pub in conjunction with the CYMS. I seem to remember John Beardwood, Ray Moss, Philly Austin, Eddie Sheridan were very much involved in organising these trips.
I remember some of the Priests who were always there for the people, Canon Fitzpatrick, Fr Winder, Fr Coleman, Fr Goulbourn and Fr Breen who was Chaplain to the junior CYMS and also the Young Christian Workers (YCW). Fr Breen was very much involved with the YCW and I can remember his enthusiasm for involving us in local affairs, lobbying MPs over social issues and lobbying councillors over housing issues. I remember one councillor Jim O'Hare who was pestered by the YCW but the YCW gave him great support at election time.
Although we had nothing, there was a great deal of fellowship and plenty of things to do. Billiard Teams, Snooker Teams, nearly always in the CYMS rooms and I seem to remember a youth club further down Great Mersey Street by Bakers the Dentist. This was not to mention the great rivalry of football teams both junior and senior. 'St Ollies' was a great place to be brought up in, it was a parish full of life and happy memories. Not only from a social side, but from the church viewpoint 'St Ollies' was a brilliant and vibrant parish. From Major Street School we used to go to sing the Requiem Mass, we also used to be taken into church to sing different Masses, yes in Latin and English in full churches. The processions on Corpus Christi, and Our Lady's processions, plus major processions on the feast of the Sacred Heart were sights to behold, as were the benedictions.
The photograph of Lamb Street at the top of the St Alphonsus Parish webpage brought back lots of memories of Bunty Piper selling bread from the Van, of Irwins the Grocers on Smith Street were we used to get broken biscuits, of Hadfields the Pawnshop ON Stanley Road were I used to work on Saturdays. Of Sloans the Greengrocers in Back Great Mersey Street just across the road from where I lived in Vesuvius Street. Of the Ennis's, the Dunnes, the Lewis's from Pluto Street, of the Haywards and the Courney's from Blackfield Street, of the Jones's, the Jacksons, the Taylors, the Pomebellas's, the Macaleavy, the Brady's from Vesuvius Street. All good Catholic Families - all involved in St Ollies.
It's great that these memories are being harvested and archived by the Scottie Press. Keep up the good work.
Yours sincerely, DEACON JOHN McCLURE.
Father Pinnington became parish priest at St Alphonsus in 1888 and for 44 years until his death in 1932 he served his parish with love and loyalty. In 1910 he was appointed Canon of the diocese which in 1912 became the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
In 1928 Canon Pinnington celebrated his Golden Jubilee (1878-1928) and Pope Pius Xl created him a Protonatary Apostolic a rank just less than that of a Bishop. Cannon Pinnington is photographed with the 249 Liverpool Troop Boy Scouts 'Canon Pinnington's Own'.
We welcome hearing from readers who may have memories of the Boy Scouts Troop at St Alphonsus and who may have photographs for inclusion on this webpage.