The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-27 00:00:00

IEFUSAL TO CONSECRATE A CHURCH.

A most unusual scene of excitement occurred on Friday
forenoon at a new and elaborately finished church at
West Derby, about -three miles from Liverpool, which
has just been erected at the sole expense of Mrs. Reade,
a wealthy lady in the neighbourhood, and which was to
have been consecrated by the Bishop of Chester. It had
been officially announced for about three weeks that the
ceremony would take place on Friday, which was the
anniversary of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint to
whom the church is dedicated, and the highly ornate
character of the interior and the elaborate painting, gild-

ing, and general decorations had the effect of attracting a
very large number of persons who wished to be present at
the ceremony. At the last moment, however, in conse-
quence of what is explained below, the bishop refused to
consecrate the edifice ; but this determination on the part
of his lordship was only officially made known to the
general public in the local newspapers in the morning,
and it was too late to prevent considerable numbers
of persons making, their way to the church.
Shortly before the hour announced' for the com-
mencement of the proceedings a large. portion of the
intended congregation arrived in rapid succession in
carriages. On arrival, however, they were unexpectedly
disappointed on reading a notice which had only an hour
or two before been placed on the church doors, simply
stating that the consecration had been unavoidably post-
poned. It appears that the cause of the postponement is
a visit which the bishop, in company with the archdeacon
and some of the local clergy, has paid to the church
within the last day or two. As already stated, the walls,
roofs, and almost every other part of the church are most
artistically decorated, together with full length paintings
of the apostles, prophets, and other characters in Scrip-
ture history, as well as large numbers of allegorical
figures. The nave is divided from the chancel by a mag-
nificent oak screen, which is richly decorated in gold and
colours, whilst the roof and walls of the chancel itself are
evon still more elaborately decorated, and the altar-
piece, which rivals in itP costliness and beauty
the best works of mediaeval times, consists of
richly-carved and gilt wood-work, with scenes from
the Passion of our Lord, from His betrayal to
the visit of the Marys to the Sepulchre. The
bishop is said to have expressed his strong disapprobation
of these decorations, as out of place in such an edifice,
more especially the altar piece, to which he strongly ob-
jects, and refuses to consecrate the church until it is
removed, as well as several other portions of the decora-
tions. The course taken by his lordship has been a general
subject of conversation, and it is stated that the donor
of the church declines to permit any of the decorations
to be removed, and threatens to resort to measures to en-
force the consecration of the church as it now appears.
It may be stated that the cost of the edifice amounts to
about £30,000, and has been erected from designs fur-
nished by Mr. G. F. Bodley, architect, of London.