Background Information

Background information Location and Transport Links Rainhill is located in the borough of St. Helens on Merseyside and is conveniently located adjacent to the motorway network with the M62 motorway running along the southern boundary of the village. The A57 road runs through the village and is easily accessed via junction 7 of the M62 motorway. The main railway line between Liverpool and Manchester runs through the village with a frequent train service stopping at the historic Rainhill Railway Station. Good connecting services exist from both Liverpool and Manchester to all parts of the country. There are two main airports serving the region at Manchester (18 miles away) and Liverpool (only 9 miles away) Economy Rainhill is now primarily a commuter village, mainly for workers in Liverpool but also St Helens and Widnes. Housing on the southerly side of Rainhill is a mixture of semi-detached and detached dwellings, whereas homes to the north, across the skew bridge there is a more varied mixture of housing with examples of terraced with semi-detached as well as bungalows. Rainhill as a whole has a mixture of modern, inter-war, and Victorian dwellings. Government Indices (2010) " History Rainhill has been recorded since Norman times but its name is believed to come from the Old English personal name of Regna or Regan. It is thought that around the time of the Domesday Book that Rainhill was a part of one of the townships within the "Widnes fee". Recordings have shown that in the year of 1246, Roger of Rainhill died and the township was divided into two halves for each of his daughters. One half was centred on the now standing Rainhill Manor Public House, see Rainhill Stoops below, and the other centred on Rainhill Hall, just off Blundell's Lane. The Church of St. Bartholomew was built by Bartholomew Bretherton who saw the need for a Catholic Church in the village of Rainhill. Prior to its existence, the nearest Church for Catholics was Our Lady's Portico or St. Bede's, Widnes.and so there was an obvious need for one closer to the village. The Bretherton family owned coaching firms which operated from Liverpool. Rainhill (The Ship Inn) was the first stop at which the horse teams were changed. It was an obvious place for him to set up residence and he lived in Rainhill Hall, which is now occupied by the Jesuit Conference Centre of Loyola Hall. In 1841 the population of Rainhill was approximately 750. Bartholomew Bretherton bought 240 acres of land in the area and became owners of much of the district, including the Manor Farm, which still exists as a public house on Mill Lane. Having decided to build a Catholic Church, Bartholomew settled on an extremely well chosen spot being 'in direct line of sight' on the main road from Rainhill Village. At least 2 designs were sent to him for approval. One of them was in Gothic Style but the winning design was submitted by a Mr. Joshua Dawson from an idea by Mr. Carter of Preston. Bartholomew wanted the new church to be dedicated to his own patron saint. He dispatched Mr. Dawson to Rome to study the design of the ancient Church of Santo Bartolomeo all'Isola. (St. Bartholomew on the Island). In 1833 building commenced. Red freestone blocks were hewn from the family's own local quarry and the foundation stone was laid by Bartholomew's only daughter, Mrs Mary Gerard, in April of that year. The building was completed two years later. It is ninety feet in length and forty five feet in width, in the form of an Ionic temple. The total cost was £8,000 and it was formally opened and consecrated on Tuesday 24th. August by the Rt.Rev.Dr. George Brown, Vicar Apostolic. ".

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