Comprehensive List of Liverpool Parishes and Chapelries

Return to the Liverpool St Peter and St Nicholas page.

Liverpool St Peter and St Nicholas was originally created a chapel of ease in the parish of Walton until 1698, when it was constituted by act of Parliament, a distinct parish.

Liverpool from the mid-18th century, became one of the largest township (population-wise) centres in the whole of England; by 1851, its population was approximately 300,000 inhabitants. Ecclesiastically, and for research purposes, it's important to note before 1900, the parish of Liverpool St Nicholas (with St Peter) possessed numerous chapelries and district chapels (about 60) attached to it.

During the height of the Industrial Revolution, these numerous smaller churches called chapelries or chapels of ease and district chapels which lay within the boundaries of the ancient parish were created to handle Liverpool St Nicholas' expanding parish population. Liverpool St Nicholas' chapels of ease or chapelries--some of which are of ancient origin, each kept registers of baptisms, often some burials and in some cases, marriages.

Below is a comprehensive list of all the chapelries associated with the ancient parish of St Nicholas and Peter Liverpool as of 1885. By far the vast majority of the original church registers (of which many are now being transcribed and posted online) are located at the Liverpool Central Archives; a few may be available at the Lancashire Record Office in Preston. Most (but not all) of these are microfilmed by FamilySearch and available for ordering and viewing at and its 4,600 satellite FamilySearch Centers worldwide.

It is important to note that all reference guides and treatises on Lancashire's ancient parishes differ--some much more than others--in that they each contain some inaccuracies in which they do not identify, nor thoroughly list all of Liverpool's [ecclesiastical] districts and their chapelries lying within St Peter's parish boundary. This is extremely problematic for large township parishes like Liverpool, but also throughout the rest of Lancashire. This problem occurs much more frequently than normal, and is an under-lying cause for unresolved and often decades-old genealogical research problems in this county.

To overcome this 'pitfall' it is therefore imperative that several key reference aids and resources be used simultaneously in order to compile the most comprehensive and thorough list of all chapels of ease and chapelries throughout Liverpool. To help you, the following Comprehensive List of Liverpool St Peter's Chapelries has been compiled here:


 * Liverpool, All Saints Grosvenor - 1798 (closed in 1845)
 * Liverpool, All Souls - 1853
 * Liverpool, Blessed Virgin Mary - 1829
 * Liverpool, Mariner's Church - 1827
 * (a.k.a. Bevington Church)
 * Liverpool St John the Evangelist - 1836
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * (a.k.a. Bevington Church)
 * Liverpool St John the Evangelist - 1836
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool St John the Evangelist - 1836
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool St John the Evangelist - 1836
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool St John the Evangelist - 1836
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool St John the Evangelist - 1836
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool St John the Evangelist - 1836
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858
 * Liverpool, St Mary Magdalen - 1858

Also part of the civil parish of Liverpool are the following district chapelries which formed the southern suburb of and also within the boundaries of Liverpool St Peter and St Nicholas:


 * Toxteth Park All Saints - 1885
 * Toxteth Park Christ Church - 1871
 * Toxteth Park Holy Trinity - 1859
 * Toxteth Park St Barnabas - 1841
 * Toxteth Park St Bede - 1882
 * Toxteth Park St Brides - 1831
 * Toxteth Park St Clement - 1841
 * Toxteth Park St Cleopas Mission Church - 1866
 * Toxteth Park St Gabriel - 1885
 * Toxteth Park St Margaret - 1869
 * Toxteth Park St Matthew - 1848 (chapelry registers are only available at the Lancashire Record Office, Preston)
 * (extra parochial)
 * Toxteth Park St Nathaniel - 1869(mostly in West Derby Parish)
 * Toxteth Park St Philemon - 1873
 * Toxteth Park St Saviour - 1841
 * Toxteth Park St Silas - 1865
 * Toxteth Park St Thomas-in-the-Fields - 1843 (chapelry registers are only available at the Liverpool Record Office)
 * Toxteth Park St Philemon - 1873
 * Toxteth Park St Saviour - 1841
 * Toxteth Park St Silas - 1865
 * Toxteth Park St Thomas-in-the-Fields - 1843 (chapelry registers are only available at the Liverpool Record Office)

Due to its close proximity, see also Walton-on-the-Hill Parish and its chapelries, i.e. Everton.

Liverpool also had in-ordinately large Irish population, many of which were Roman Catholic. By 1831, Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of England (published 1831) identified that there were at least five Roman Catholic parishes lying within its boundaries. However, on further study, here is a list all those known Roman Catholic churches within the boundaries of the city--including ten (10) of them; the Family History Library has a few of them (see hyper-links below); there were, prior to 1900, nearly 40 Catholic parishes within Liverpool proper:


 * - 1807
 * St Anne
 * St Ethelburga - 1843
 * St Nicholas - 1813 (some burials)
 * - 1804 (see also St Anthony's website for some data online)
 * St Peter – 1788
 * St Mary, Woolton – 1707 (see their website, with soon-to-be-posted data online
 * - 1758
 * - 1827
 * St Joseph - 1798

Here are related links to Roman Catholics living in the City of Liverpool area:


 * Liverpool Roman Catholic Marriages (64,000) database online from 1800-1900, with most after 1850
 * Liverpool Roman Catholic Baptisms (nearly 115,000) online (eventually over 500,000 entries will be available)
 * Liverpool Roman Catholic Burials (1856-1865) - about 35,000 entries

Helpful Links: 


 * 1) Some of Liverpool's Nonconformist church registers, as well as many Church of England chapelry registers have also been indexed and posted online at the outstanding Lancashire "Online Parish Clerk" project.
 * 2) Website, "A Church Near You" provides some information on some chapelries and parishes: www.achurchnearyou.com
 * 3) VisionofBritain.org.uk - provides online access to one of the best gazetteers (topographical dictionary) for England. In the "Liverpool" entry, especially read towards the end where its churches are discussed and outlined in some detail (published about 1870; see Bibliography).
 * 4) Website: "Genuki" gives a list of parishes and many of their chapelries, and also some considerable detail about each, and in particular, the year when each church's history begins: www.genuki.org.uk

Bibliography:

Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, by Youngs, Frederic A. Pub: The Royal Historical Society, London 1991

Topographical Dictionary of England. Lewis Samuel. Pub: Samuel A. Lewis &amp; Co. London 1841 &amp;1831

''A Comprehensive Gazetteer of England. ''Bell, James. A. Pub.: Fullarton &amp; Co. Glasgow 1836

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales. A. Fullarton &amp; Co. Glasgow and London ca. 1869 (see also VisionOfBritain.org.uk)

''Atlas &amp; Index to Parish Registers. ''Edited by Cecil Humphrey-Smith. Pub by  Phillimore &amp; Co. Ltd.Chichester, Sussex. 2003.

Lancashire Record Office website: see "Church Registers"

Liverpool Central Library website: search the terms--"baptisms", "marriages" or "burials", or, name of the chapel or church--if known.

Liverpool