The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-04-19 00:00:00

OPENING OF ST. AUGUSTINE'S NEW
SCHOOLS, YESTERDAY.

In the early part of the year 1851 it was resolved by the
members of St. Augustine's congregation in this town
that new schools should be erected within the district
assigned to that church. At a meeting held in the old
National School-room, Upper Beau-street, on the 17th of
March, 1851, the Rev. J. Herbert Jones, the incumbent
of the parish, in the chair, it was resolved " that, in conse-
quence of the inconvenient site and insufficient accommo-
dation of the schools at present attached to St. Augustine's
Church, the erection of new rooms, of larger dimensions
and within the district assigned to the Church, is desira-
ble ; and that the following gentlemen be appointed a
committee for raising the necessary funds and superin-
tending the building, with power to add to their number :
—Edmund Molrneux, Esq. ; James Mellor, Esq. ; Thos.
Mellor, Esq.; Robert Aked, Esq. •, James Roper, Esq. ;
George B. Denton, Esq. ; John Whitley, Esq. ; Edward
D. Maddock, Esq.; Henry Wilson, Esq. ; Wm. Nichol-
son, Esq. ; James Johnson, Esq.; Isaac Hadwen, Esq. ;
Edward Whitley, Esq. ; George Walley, Esq. ; John
Fowler, Esq. ; Alfred Stone, Esq., and the Rev. J.
Herbert Jones and William J. Horsfall, Esq., treasurers.
The committee thus appointed, were much encouraged by
a very liberal offer, made by Thomas Shaw, Esq., of a
piece of land in the immediate neighbourhood of the
church, as a site for the new schools ; and some objections
having afterwards arisen to the application of it to that
purpose, they were kindly allowed by Mr. Shaw to dis-
pose of it, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of a
more eligible site that was offered for sale in Salisbury-
street. An application was then made to the Committee
of Council on Education for a grant in accordance with
their rules, and after a lengthened correspondence which
ensued, and which delayed any further proceedings during
the remainder of that yerr, their consent was obtained to
the plans which had been proposed, modified by the
omission of the intended master's residence and some
other less important alterations. The congregation
meanwhile responded with much liberality to the appeal
which had been made, and a large amount of subscriptions
was received. On Tuesday, the 23rd March, 1852, a
meeting of the members of the congregation was held, at
which a report of the proceedings of the Building Com-
mittee was read, together with a financial statement,
from which it appeared that the plans were then ready, and
the committee prepared to commence building as soon as
the necessary contracts could be entered into, but that a
deficiency of about £SSO of the estimated expense still
remained ; the estimated cost being—for the site pur-
chased £540, and for the building, &c., £2,74o—total,
£3,250. Under the auspices of the respected incum-
bent, Mr. Jones, aided by several zealous friends in
the congregation, subscriptions were quickly poured into
the treasury, and ultimately the means at the disposal of
the committee—including subscriptions paid and pro-
mised, government grant, sale of Mr. Shaw's land, and of
the old schools—justified them in setting about the work
of raising the structure. The laying of the foundation.
stone—a ceremony performed by the Lord Bishop of
Chester—took place eleven months ago. The building is
now complete ; and, before describing the ceremonies of
its opening, we may appropriately give a description of
the structure, which is, in an architectural as well as a
moral point of view, the chief ornament of Salisbury-
street, and that thickly-peopled neighbourhood.
These national schools are built upon a site on the west
side of Salisbury-street, and occupy an area of 20 yards in
front and 37 yards deep, which was purchased at a cost of
£550. They replace the schools originally built in con-
nexion with St. Augustine's Church in 1834, which are
situated in Upper Beau-street. The latter have been sold,
and will, we believe, be rented from the purchaser for
occupation in connexion with St. Peter's Church, Sack-
ville-street, Everton.
The new building consists of a principal or main portion,
lying on the northern part of the site, and two wings ; the
main building containing the schools—the infants' on
the ground floor, the boys' on the first, and the girls'
on the second floor, each about 65 feet by 28 feet ; the
land falling from east to west, the infant school is par-
tially sunk on the Salisbury-street side, and the ascent to
the other two schools is proportionably diminished. The
infant school is 15 feet high, the boys' 16 feet, and the
girls' 11 feet to the wall plate, and 30 feet to the ridge.
Of the wings, which project southwardly from the schools,
the one front contains the approaches and cloak rooms,
and the back or western wing the class rooms and a com-
mittee room, the intermediate space, which is bounded
southwardly by other buildings, forming the girls' yard,
those for the boys and infants lying westward of the
schools and class-room wing, next Back Salisbury-street.
The infants' and boys' class rooms are each 244 feet by 23
feet, and the committee room the same, occupying a nzez-
zanine between the boys' and the girls' class rooms, the
last named being 244 feet by 271 feet.
The general object has been to occupy the whole space
at command to the best advantage, and to obtain accom-
modation, without overcrowding, for about 900 or 1000
children. Substantial rather than ornamental character
has been aimed at, and whatever of architecttiral style
exists has been obtained by the most simple means.
The general character of the building is that of the
pointed style, prevalent about the year 1300, exemplified
in a form such as exhibited in these schools by some of
the plainer conventual buildings of that period. The
front to Salisbury-street is the principal one, and displays
a lofty gable, flanked by bold buttresses, and pierced by
the eastern windows of the schools, those of the infant
school being six lights, in pairs, those of the boys' five (a
triplet in the centre and a single light at each side), and
the girls'ari arrangement of five lights combined, rising into
the gable ; the approach to the boys' school is by an exter-
nal stair, and above it rises a turret, oblong on plan, stir-
mounted by an acute leaded roof, crested with cruciform or-
naments in gilt metal. The girls' staircase, on the southern
extremity of the front, is roofed with a smaller gable to-
wards the street, and pierced by a segmental pointed arch
below, and a transomed couplet window lighting the stair
above, and the portion intermediate between this slightly
projected gable and the turret just described is occupied
below by the entrance to the infants' descending stairs
and windows of the cloak rooms above it. The two prin-
cipal gables, front and hack, are surmounted by carved
stone crosses, and relief is given by the use of ornamental
wrought-iron hinges, (forged by Mr. Crompton, of Brid-
port-street) to the three entrance doors. Inscriptions in
old English character indicate the purpose of the build-
ing and its divisions.
The west end of the schools has lights similar to the
east, and large side lights are also obtained in each over
the girls' yard, between the two wings. The materials of
the front are Upholland wall stone and white Runcorn
stone dressings, the remainder of the building being built
of brick, with red stone dressings ; all the bearing timber is
of Baltic growth.
The work was contracted for by Mr. James Burroughs,
for the sum of £2,800, and associated with him, as sub.
contractors, are Mr. William Wells, mason ; Messrs J.
and R. Duckworth, bricklayers; Mr. Alderman Bennett,
ironfounder ; Mr. Thomas Jones, plasterer ; and Mr.
Jas. Crellin, plumber, &c., The architect is Mr. H. P.
Horner, from whose designs the whole of the details have
been carried out, and who expresses the fullest satisfac-
tion with the manner in which the contractors have ac-
complished their task. The first stone was laid on the
18th of May, 1852, by the Lord Bishop of Chester.
The opening of the new schools has been accomplished
with celebrations of a most pleasing description, and, so
far, under the most auspicious circumstances. On Sunday
the Lord Bishop of the diocese preached in the church
to a large and attentive congregation, one of the most gra-
tifying features of which was the numerous body of nicely-
dressed and orderly children, who,, either at the Sunday
or day schools, or both, are at present receiving instruc-
tion. The collection on the occasion amounted to the
handsome sum of £66.

Yesterday morning, at half-past nine o'clock, the formal
opening of the schools was celebrated by a public break-
fast, which took place in the girls' school-room—an
exceedingly beautiful apartment, which was tastefully
decorated with flags, evergreens, and flowers. More than
250 persons breakfasted on the occasion—including, of
course, a large proportion of ladies, who gave to the
gathering an aspect pleasingly animated and interesting.
The Lord Bishop having asked a blessing, ample justice
was done to the good things, which were plentifully as
well as elegantly served by Mr. Lawton, of the Bee Hotel.
During the breakfast, the juvenile band of the Industrial
School played various animated airs—the youthful musi-
cians being stationed in the street, to the delectation of
the entire neighbourhood, which poured out crowds of
onlookers. The chair was afterwards taken by the Rev.
J. Herbert Jones, the Incumbent of St. Augustine's
Church, at the same table with whom were the Lord
Bishop of the Diocese, the Rev. Dr. M`Neile ; Reverends
Dr. Hume, J. Lawrence, J. Macnaught, G. W. Warr, John
Jones, (father of the Incumbent of St, Augustine's and
Rural Dean,) J. Stewart, W. H. Wright, C. H. Burton,
W. Rawson, M. Calder, of Fairfield, and W. T. Newen-
ham, Curate of St. Augustine's Church ; Edmund .Moly-
neux, Esq., Adam Hodgson, Esq., T. D. Anderson, Esq.,
W. Cook, Esq., I'. Carne, Esq., H. P. Horner, Esq., the
architect of the building, &c.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said that
their assemblage on that occasion was one which called
for much thankfulness. They were met to celebrate the
accomplishment of a work which had engaged their atten-
tion for two years; and, in its completion and opening,
he pointed out the necessity of gratitude to God for past
success and prayers to the Divine Author of all things for
His blessing to rest and remain upon what had been so
auspiciously begun. Subjects for thankfulness abounded
thickly around them ; not the least important of them
was, the circumstance that so many of them bad been
spared to see the accomplishment of the work. It was
not a matter of course that it should be so ; for many
began a work who were not permitted to finish it. And,
indeed, one of the largest contributors—one whose name
stands at the head of the list (the late Henry Copeland,
Esq.)—had not been allowed to witness the completion of
a design in the successful issue of which he felt much in-
terested. He expressed his conviction that the work had
brought good both upon him, as their pastor, and upon
the congregation. In trying to bring the children and
the neighbourhood around them to feel an interest in the
institution, he believed that, as a congregation, they had
derived great benefit, while he himself had been brought
into intercourse with many more kind friends of whom
he had previously known little. He acknowledged
gratefully the services which had been rendered to
the school by Mr. Roper, who had kindly toiled with
him, and that with the most untiring good spirits
amid all the difficulties and discouragements which neces-
sarily attended a work of charity. Not that he referred
to the discouragements in a tone of disappointment, for
discouragements had been very few. He had found a
spirit of liberality and kindness and love throughout the
congregation, of the existence of which he was previously
unaware. He acknowledged the very handsome gift of a
fine chamber organ, which just a week ago had been
kindly and unexpectedly presented to them by Mr.
William Thomas, whose presence they had the honour
of having that day. (Applause.) Not the least cause of
thankfulness that day was to be found in the presence of
the Lord Bishop. (Great applause.) He was sure he
expressed only their feeling as a congregation towards his
lordship, when he expressed his thanks for his lordship's
kindly and cordial interest in that work. He had come
thither on two occasions—devoting to them a considerable
portion of time on each occasion, and on the first, as
they well remembered, exposing himself to the pitiless
storm which prevailed on the day on which the founda-
tion-stone was laid. They were grateful that his lordship
had come among them, although at considerable personal
inconvenience, once more, and that they bad how the