St James' Cemetery.  Liverpool

The picture on the left is  by W. Crane, and is dated about 1831.   At the centre-right is the Ministers house, designed by John Foster.   Below this you can see the pedestrian access tunnel.   The layout of the ramps and the catacombs can be seen to the left.   The middle catacomb of those on the lower level (the five large arches) is where the spring flowed into a circular bowl.

Above the catacombs you can see the magnificent houses of Gambier Terrace.   Designed by John Foster, it is supposed that his design was to fill the whole of Gambier Terrace, although a lack of finances prevented this.

Clicking on the thumbnail will load a 300k picture, I have deliberately made it large because of the detail it contains.   Drawn by T.M.Baines in 1840, it shows the Ministers house in great clarity.   Huskisson's memorial, completed in 1836, can be seen towards the centre of the picture.   Also if you compare this picture with the one above, you will see that Gambier Terrace is now completed.

If you look carefully, you will see a different style of houses has been built next to Fosters design (Just above the centre arch)   Continuing right you will see one of the many windmills that populated the area.

A picture looking North-West by T.M.Bains in 1839.   The Oratory can be clearly seen, as can the skyline of Liverpool.   The pedestrian access tunnel can be seen, although the other tunnels are not shown.   In the right foreground it would appear that work was still going on in the construction of the cemetery.

A picture from the cover of 'The Mirror' a periodical dated 1839, which came into my possession recently.   It is interesting to note that the artist has altered the perspective of the cemetery.   The Oratory  has been moved several yards to the right.   There is no indication who the artist is, or the year it was drawn.   The door that can be seen in the bottom right corner of the picture is the access to the quarry traffic tunnel.   As with most drawings of the period, people are drawn small to give the buildings an appearance of grandeur.

One of the earliest pictures I have come across of St James.   Very kindly supplied by Steve Barber, it shows the South end of the quarry as it was between about 1775 and 1790.   This view is looking down the present Parliament Street.  The windmill was built in about 1750 on the land of a Thomas Appleton.  The actual quarry is hidden behind the mound of Quarry Hill, shown to the right of the picture.   This is a similar, although earlier picture to the one at the top of The Early Years page.   The Windmill was demolished in 1821.

A picture dated 1831 showing the water flowing from the Spring.   The Artist, T.T Bury, has the gentleman in the center pointing out the grave of William Huskisson.  The mausoleum was not built until 1836. My thanks go to Michael Powell and Chetham's Library in Manchester for supplying and allowing me to use the picture.

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