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chancel is rich in black oak for the panelling,
altar rails, and choir stalls, which are richly
carved and dated 1636. Eleven of the stalls have
misericord seats, a very unusual thing in parish
churches. On the north side of the chancel stands
an effigy, life-size, of John Ogle, a member of a
prominent local family, who died in 1612. He was
the donor of the very fine chair, dated 1610,
which stands close by. By the effigy is an
ancient poor-box. The graceful screen was
dedicated in 1921 in memory of the men of Prescot
who fell in the 1914-18 war, and the beautiful
reredos, in dark oak, was presented by Mrs. E. G.
Evans in 1891. The choir vestry was built in
1900. PRESCOT
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. The old Non-conformist
Church at Prescot was erected in 1756, and
several families and individuals, at that time
attending church at St. Helens, but whose
residence was in or near Prescot, for the greater
convenience of themselves and their families left
the ministry of Mr. Mercer for that of Mr.
Holland, the then minister of Prescot. The work
at Prescot thus dates from February 29th, 1756,
the number of members then being seventy-six. The
foundation stone of the Ebenezer Chapel was laid
on July 30th, 1811, by Rev. Thomas Spencer of
Liverpool. The land had not been legally conveyed
to the Trustees, and it was not until 1860 that
this matter was settled and a Deed of
Enfranchisement was procured from the Fellows of
King's College, Cambridge, who were Lords of the
Manor of Prescot. In 1868 movements were made
towards the building of the present church in
Aspinall Street. At a church meeting on October
6th, 1874, Mr. Prescott reported that the land
had been purchased from Mr. Aspinall for the site
of the new church. On the 16th August. 1877, the
foundation stone of the present church was laid
by Major W. W. Pilkington. J.P., of St. Helens.
In connection with the church at the present time
there is a very active Amateur Dramatic Society,
a Ladies' Guild, and Parents Association.
THE
METHODIST CHURCH . The Rev. John Wesley passed
through the town on his way to Warrington in
1757. The only reference in his Journal is under
the date 10th April. 1768 (Sunday) when he
attended the Parish Church and afterwards
preached in the open air. About the year 1770 one
of Wesley's itinerants took his stand on the
fish-stones which were around the prison in the
Market Place, and there preached to the crowd
which gathered. Later, the first group met in the
Tan Yard, afterwards known as Pottery Place, in
Kernble Street, and subsequently removed to the
"Long Room" in Eccleston Street. A more
commodious building was later acquired in
Houghton Street (now the Church of England Day
School). This old chapel becoming inadequate,
land was acquired in Eccleston Street, and. in
1S37, a Gothic-style building of hewn stone,
capable of accommodating 500 persons, was
erected, and is still used as a Sunday School. At
the end of the 19th century, the Trustees
acquired the old Unitarian Chapel in Atherton
Street. This served as a Mission Hall until 1910
when the present church, accommodating about 750
persons, was erected.
ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH. Dedicated to Our Lady Immaculate
and St. Joseph, the Roman Catholic Church in
Vicarage Place was erected in 1856, and is a
stone building in the Gothic style, consisting of
a chancel, nave, transepts and a tower containing
one bell. Also St. Luke's Roman Catholic Church.
Shaw Lane. Prescot.
OTHER
CHURCHES in the town include St. Paul's Church
(C.E.), Bryer Estate, Zion Independent Methodist
Church, the Welsh Congregational Church in
Warrington Road, the Salvation Army Hall in
Warrington Road, and the Bethel Church. Evans
Street.
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