| Church of Saint Andrew, Liverpool | |
Church of Saint Andrew, Liverpool,
from the southwest in April 2010 |
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Church of Saint Andrew, Liverpool
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| OS grid reference | SJ 354 900 |
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| Location | Rodney Street, Liverpool, Merseyside |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Scottish Presbyterian |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Andrew |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 28 June 1952 |
| Architect(s) | Daniel Stewart, John Foster |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Greek Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 17 June 1823 |
| Completed | 1824 |
| Closed | 1975 |
The Church of Saint Andrew, Liverpool, is a ruined church in Rodney Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building,[1] and is on its Buildings at Risk Register.[2]
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The church was built in 1823 for Scottish Presbyterians in Liverpool.[3] The foundation stone was laid on 17 June, and the church opened the following year on 3 December.[4] The body of the church was designed by Daniel Stewart, the surveyor of the church's committee of management, and the façade by John Foster the senior surveyor of the Corporation of Liverpool.[3] The church closed in 1975,[4] and was seriously damaged by fire in 1983.[3] Since that time, one of the towers has had to be demolished because it was unsafe. The church and its surrounding graveyard were purchased privately in 1988, with plans to restore the building and open it as offices and medical consulting rooms. However the plans did not not materialise, and the building and site have been acquired by Liverpool City Council. As of 2011, its future is uncertain.[5] On the Buildings At Risk Register, its condition is stated to be "very poor".[2] The Scottish community previously meeting in the church now meet in the Radcliffe Room in Liverpool Cathedral.[6]
The body of the church is constructed in rendered brick, and contains round-headed windows. The façade is in ashlar in Greek Revival style. It contains a recessed portico with Ionic columns, and square towers at the corners surmounted by small domes.[3] In the National Heritage List for England it is described as "a distinguished building in a desperate condition".[1]
Adjacent to the church in the churchyard is a monument to William Mackenzie, a railway contractor who died in 1851. It is in the shape of a pyramid, is constructed in granite, and was erected in 1868. Facing the street is a blind entrance flanked by uprights supporting a lintel containing a bronze plaque. The structure is a Grade II listed building.[7]
There is a tradition that, as Mackenzie was a gambling man, he sold his soul to the Devil, and that his body was placed in a seating position above ground within the pyramid, in order that the Devil may not claim him. His ghost is said to haunt Rodney Street.[5]