About 33 years since there was a conquest somewhat Norman in Preston
and the neighbourhood; and the "William" of it was an industrious
ex-joiner. In 1836, and during the next two years, four churches--
three in Preston and one in Ashton--were erected through the
exertions of the Rev. Carus Wilson, who was vicar here at that time;
each of them was built in the Norman style; and the general of them
was a plodding man who had burst through the bonds of joinerdom and
winged his way into the purer and more lucrative atmosphere of
architectural constructiveness. One of the sacred edifices whose
form passed through his alembic was Christ Church and to this
complexion of a building we have now come. There is so much and so
little to be said about Christ Church that we neither know where to
begin nor how to end. Nobody has yet said that Christ Church,
architecturally, is a very nice place; and we are not going to say
so. It is a piece of calm sanctity in-buckram, is a stout mass of
undiluted lime stone, has been made ornate with pepper castors,
looks sweetly-clean after a summer shower, is devoid of a steeple,
will never be blown over, couldn't be lifted in one piece, and will
nearly stand forever. It is as strong as a fortress; has walls thick
enough for a castle; is severely plain but full of weft; has no
sympathy with elaboration, and is a standing protest against masonic
gingerbread. It rests on the northern side of Fishergate-hill;
between Bow-lane and Jordan-street, is surrounded with houses, has
two entrances with gateposts which might, owing to their solidity,
have descended lineally from the pillars of Hercules; is entirely
out of sight on the eastern side; and from the other points of the
compass can be seen better a mile off with a magnifying glass than
20 yards off without one. There is something venerable and monastic,
something substantial and coldly powerful about the front; but the
general building lacks beauty of outline and gracefulness of detail.
Christ Church is the only place of worship in Preston built of
limestone; and if it has not the prettiest, it has the cleanest
exterior. There is no "matter in its wrong place" (Palmerston's
definition of dirt) about it. If you had to run your hand all round
the building--climbing the rails at the end to do so--you might get
scratched, but wouldn't get dirtied. The foundation stone of Christ
Church was laid in 1836, and in the following year the place was
opened. Adjoining the church there is a graveyard, which is kept in
excellent condition. Some burial grounds are graced with old hats,
broken pots, ancient cans, and dead cats; but this has no such
ornaments; it is clean and neat, properly levelled, nicely green-
swarded, and well-cared for. The first person interred in the ground
was the wife of the first incumbent--the Rev. T. Clark. Outside and
in front of the building there is a large blue-featured clock with a
cast-iron inside. It was fixed in 1857, and there was considerable
newspaper discussion at the time as to what it would do. Time has
proved how well it can keep time. It is looked after by a gentleman
learned in the deep mysteries of horology, who won't allow its
fingers to get wrong one single second, who used to make his own
solar calculations in his own observatory, on the other side of
Jordan (street), who gets his time now from Greenwich, who has
drilled the clock into a groove of action the most perfect, and who
would have just cause to find fault with the sun if antagonising
with its indications. He his thoroughly master of the clock, and
could almost make it stop or go by simply shouting or putting up his
finger at it. It is a good clock, however blue it may look; it has
gone well constantly; and, if we may credit the words of one of the
clock manager's sanguine brethren, "is likely to do so." At the
entrance doors there are two curious pieces of wood exactly like
spout heads. Some people say they are for money; but we hardly think
so, for during our visits to the church we have seen no one go too
near them with their hands.
The interior of Christ Church is plain, and rather heavy-looking.
But it is very clean and orderly. The chancel of the building is
circular, tastefully painted, with a calm subdued light, and looks
rich. The ceiling of the church is lofty, and very woody--is crossed
by four or five unpoetical-looking beams which deprive the building
of that airiness and capaciousness it would otherwise possess.
Contiguous to the chancel there is a galleried transept; a large
gallery also runs along the sides and at the front end of the
general building. The seats below are substantial and high; very
small people when they sit down in them go right out of sight--if
you are sitting behind you can't see them at all; people less
diminutive show their occiput moderately; ordinarily-sized folk keep
their heads and a portion of their shoulders just fairly in sight.
About 560 people can be accommodated below and 440 in the galleries.
There are several free sittings in front of the pulpit--good seats
for hearing, but rather too conspicuous; just within each entrance
on the ground floor there are more free sittings; and all the pews
in the galleries except the two bottom rows--let at a low figure--
are, we believe, also free. Altogether there are about 400 seats
free and tolerably easy in the building. There are many pretty
stained glass memorial windows in the church; indeed, if it were not
for these the building would have a very cold and unpleasantly
Normanised look. They tone down its severity of style, and cast
gently into it a mellowed light akin to that of the "dim religious"
order. They are narrow, circular-headed; and occupy the front, the
sides, the transept, and the chancel. All the lower windows in the
building, except two or three, are filled in with stained glass. The
windows were put in by the following parties:- Four by Mr. Edward
Gorst (afterwards Lowndes), one in memory of his wife and two
children, another in memory of Mr. Septimus Gorst, his wife and only
child, and two in commemoration of the 20 years services of the late
Rev T. Clark at the church; five by the late Mr. J. Bairstow--two of
them being in memory of his sisters, Miss Bairstow and Mrs. Levy;
two in memory of the late Mr. J. Horrocks, sen., and Mrs. Horrocks
his wife, by their children; one in memory of the late Mr. John
Horrocks, jun., by his widow and two sisters; one to the memory of
Mr. Lowndes by his son; two by the late Mrs. Clark, one, we believe,
being in memory of her mother, whilst the other does not appear to
have any personal reference; one by the Rev. Raywood Firth, the
present incumbent, in memory of Miss Buck, who remembered him kindly
in her will; and one by the Rev. Mr. Firth and his wife, which was
put up when the Rev. T. Clark relinquished the incumbency, and gave
way for his son-in-law. This "in memoriam" act was done out of
affection and not because the incumbency was changing hands. The
pulpit in the Church is tall and somewhat handsome. It occupies a
central position, in front of the chancel, and is flanked by two
reading desks, one being used for prayers and the other for lessons.
There is no clerk at this church; and there were never but two
connected with the place; one being the late Mr. Stephen Wilson, of
the firm of Wilson and Lawson; and the other the late Mr. John
Brewer, of the firm of Bannister and Brewer of this town. The
responses are now said by the choir; and everything appertaining to
the serious problems of surplice and gown arranging, pulpit door
opening and shutting, is solved by black rod in waiting--the beadle.
The first incumbent of Christ Church was the Rev. T. Clark--a
kindly-exact, sincere, quiet-moving gentleman, who did much good in
his district, visited poor people regularly, wasn't afraid of going
down on his knees in their houses, gave away much of that which
parsons and other sinners generally like to keep--money, and was
greatly respected. We shall always remember him--remember him for
his quaint, virtuous preciseness, his humble, kindly plodding ways,
his love of writing with quill pens and spelling words in the old-
fashioned style, his generosity and mild, maidenly fidgetiness, his
veneration for everything evangelical, his dislike of having e put
after his name, and his courteous, accomplished, affable manners.
For 27 years--having previously been curate at the Parish Church in
this town--Mr. Clark was incumbent of Christ Church.
He was succeeded by his son-in-law, the Rev. Raywood Firth, who has
worked through Longfellow's excelsior gamut rapidly and
successfully. The father of Mr. Firth was a Wesleyan Methedist
minister, and, singular to say, was at one time--in some Yorkshire
circuit we believe--the superintendent of a gentlemen who is now,
and has been for some years, the incumbent of a Preston church. A
few years ago Mr. Firth visited Preston as secretary of a society in
connection with the Church of England; then got married to the
daughter of the Rev. T. Clark; subsequently became curate of that
gentlemen's church; and in 1864 was made its incumbent. Well done!
The ascent is good. We like the transition. Mr. Firth is a minute,
russet-featured gentleman; is precise in dress, neat in taste; gets
over the ground quietly and quickly; has a full, clear, dark eye;
has a youthful clerical countenance; has given way a little to
facial sadness; is sharp and serious; has a healthy biliary duct,
and has carried dark hair on his head ever since we knew him; is
clear-sighted, shy unless spoken to, and cautious; is free and
generous in expression if trotted out a little; is no bigot;
dislikes fierce judgments and creed-reviling; likes visiting folk
who are well off; wouldn't object to tea, crumpet, and conversation
with the better end of his flock any day; visits fairly in his
district, and says many a good word to folk in poverty, but would
look at a floor before going down upon it like his predecessor;
thinks that flags and boards should be either very clean or carpeted
before good trousers touch them; minds his own business; is
moderately benevolent, but doesn't phlebotomise himself too
painfully; never sets his district on fire with either phrensied
lectures or polemical tomahawking; takes things easily and
respectably; believes in his own views rather strongly at times;
loves putting the sacred kibosh upon things occasionally; is well
educated, can think out his own divinity; need never buy sermons;
has a clear, quiet-working, fairly-developed brain; is inclined to
thoughtfulness and taciturnity; might advantageously mix up with the
poor of his district a little more; needn't care over much for the
nods of rich folk, or the green tea and toast of antique Spinsters;
might be a little heartier, and less reserved; is a sincere man;
believes in what he teaches; and is thoroughly evangelical; is more
enlightened than three-fourths of our Preston Church of England
parsons, and doesn't brag over his ability. His salary is about 400
pounds a year, and that is a sum which the generality of people
would not object to. He is a good reader, is clear and energetic,
but shakes his head a little too much. In the pulpit he never gets
either fast asleep or hysterical. He can preach good original
sermons--carefully worked out, well-balanced, neatly arranged; and
he can give birth to some which are rather dull and mediocre. His
action is easy, yet earnest--his style quiet yet dignified; his
matter often scholarly, and never stolen. He is not a, "gatherer and
disposer of other men's stuff," like some clerical greengrocers:
what he says is his own, and he sticks to it.
There are two full services, morning and evening, and prayers in an
afternoon, on Sundays, at the church; and on a Tuesday evening there
is another service,--attended only slenderly, and patronised
principally, we are afraid, by elderly females, whose sands have run
down, and who couldn't do much harm now if they were very solicitous
on the subject. The attendance on Sundays is pretty large--
particularly in a morning. The adult congregation used to be very
select and high in the instep--was a kind of second edition of St.
George's, in three volumes. It is still numerous, but not so choice;
still proud but not so well bred; still stiff, serene, lofty-minded,
and elanish, but not so wealthy as is formerly was. The superior
members of the congregation, as a rule, gravitate downwards, have
seats on the ground floor,--it is vulgar to sit in the galleries.
They are all excellently attired; the "latest thing" may be seen in
hair, and bonnets, and dresses; the best of coats and the cleanest
of waistcoats are also observable. A cold tone of gentle-blooded,
high-middle-class respectability prevails. Much special adhesiveness
exists amongst them. Small charmed circles, little isolated
coteries, fond of exclusive devotional dealing, and "keeping
themselves to themselves," are rather numerous. Many good and some
very inquisitive and gossipy people attend--individuals who know all
your concerns, can tell how many glasses you had last week and where
you had them at, and like to make quiet hints on the subject to
others. The congregation is substantial in look, and possesses many
excellent qualities; but there is a great amount of what Dr. Johnson
would call "immiscibility" in it. Nearly every part of it has a very
strong notion that it is better than any other part. As in the
grocer's shop pictured by one of our best wits, so is it here--the
tenpenny nail looks upon the tin tack and calmly snubs it; the long
sixes eye the farthing dips and say they are poor lights; the bigger
articles seem cross and potent in the face of the smaller; the
little look big in the face of the less; and the infinitessimal clap
their wings when they make a comparison with nothing. The
congregation at Christ Church won't mix itself up; is fond of
"distance"; says, in a genteely pious tone, "keep off"; can't be
approached beyond a certain point; isn't sociable; won't stand any
hand-shaking except is its own peculiar circles. We know a person
who has gone for above 20 years to one of our Methodist chapels, and
yet nobody has ever said, on either entering or leaving the place,
"How are you?" The very same thing would have happened if that same
person had gone to Christ Church, unless there had been some
connection with a special circle. In all our churches and chapels
there is sadly too much of this rigid isolation, this frigid "Don't
know you" business. Clanishness and cleanliness occupy front ranks
at Christ Church, and if the Scotch tartans were worn in it, the
theory of distinction would be consummated. We would advise Mr.
Firth to write northward--beyond the Firth of Forth (oh!)--for
samples of plaids. The congregation on the whole is pretty liberal;
can subscribe fair sums of money; but the collections are not now
what they once were; the main reason being that there is not the
same wealth in the place as there used to be.
The music at Christ Church was, until lately, very good; it now
seems to be degenerating a little. There is a splendid organ in the
building. It cost about 1,000 pounds, and, with the exception of
that at St. George's, is about the best in the town. The late Mr. J.
Horrocks, jun., contributed handsomely towards the organ; played it
gratuitously; gave liberally towards the choir expenses; and Christ
Church is under a lasting debt of gratitude to him for his excellent
services. The organ is blown by two small engines, driven by water;
so that its music literally resolves itself into a question of wind
and water. The tones of the instrument are good, and they are very
fairly brought out by the present organist. The services are well
got through, and whilst Puritanism is on the one hand avoided in
them, Ritualism is on the other distinctly discarded. A medium
course, which is the best, is observed in the church, and so long as
Mr. Firth remains at the place there will be nothing bedizened or
foolish in its ceremonies. A small memorial place of worship, which
will operate as a "chapel of ease" for Christ Church, has been built
in Bird-street. Belonging to Christ Church there are some good day
and Sunday schools. They are numerously attended, and well
supervised. Adults have a room to themselves on a Sunday, and they
go through the processes of instruction patiently, benignly, and
without thrashing. At one time there was a school connected with the
church in Wellfield-road; but when St. Mark's was erected the
building and the scholars were transferred to its care. Viewing
everything right round, it may be said that Christ Church is a good
substantial building, but is rather too plain and weighs too much
for its size; that its minister is a mildly-toned, well-educated,
devout gentleman, with no cant in him, with a tender bias to the
side of gentility, and born to be luckier than three-fourths of the
sons of Wesleyan parsons; that its congregation is influential,
rose-coloured, good-looking, numerous, thinks that everybody is not
composed exactly of the same materials, believes that familiarity is
a flower which must be cautiously cultivated; that its religious and
educational operations are extensive; and that if all who are
influenced by them would only carry out what they are taught--none
of us do this over well--they would be models from which plaster
casts might be taken either for artistic purposes or the edification
of heathens generally.