St Paul's Church, St Paul's Square, c. 1832. Consecrated in 1769, this church was a replica in miniature of St Paul's, London. The church built 1765-1769 was in itself a good building, but had often been treated with contempt because the name and the dome suggest a contrast with St Paul’s Cathedral and the fable of the frog endeavouring to rival the ox could be quoted. Its acoustic properties were for a long time so bad that it was not popular as a place of worship; the rivalries of the two incumbents it formerly had also injured it; and for many years it stood empty, being condemned as unsafe. In Sufield’s ‘Leverpool’, it is characterised as ‘a magnificent structure…and standing on the elevated ground it is a noble addition to the view of the town, from whatever point it is taken.’

Image details: Engraved by Lowry from a drawing by Harwood