England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
St Helens St Helen

The Parish

Lancashire's ecclesiastical arrangements are complex, St Helens, whilst a very substantial town, is actually only a chapelry in the very large parish of Prescot. It was, however, licensed for marriages throughout the transcript period. St Helens is a market town and a large undustrialised manufacturing town in the southern portion of Lancashire. It is located about 11 miles northeast of the port of Liverpool and lies about 2 miles south of the major east/west route of the A580 (East Lancs Road) which links Liverpool to Manchester. St Helens cannot be mentioned without documenting the two principal employers in the area namely coal from the Lancashire coalfield and glass from the high silica-rich sands deposited onto the Lancashire plains by the glaciations of the geological past. St Helens has grown into one of the major glass manufacturing sites of England and is almost synonymous with name of its major employer, Pilkingtons. The British Cast Plate Glass Company was founded in 1773 and managed by the wonderfully French named Jean-Baptiste Francois Graux de la Bruyere (plate glass technology having been developed in France) grew to be a significant industry not only in Lancashire terms but for England. The area prior to this had been largely rural and pastoral, lowly populated and of little worth to the country as a whole. St Helens sits at the centre of a web of major roads (both A58 and A570 cross its centre), it is located at around 30 metres above sea level on the broad south Lancashire plains, land falling away to the south where the River Mersey estuary lies. Most drainage heads for the Mersey, much of its through the Sankey Brook which heads southeastwards through nearby Warrington to join the Mersey. From a relatively minor small village St Helens grew rapidly to a population of over 17,000 parishioners. There is no mention of St Helens in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Helen's church sits in the heart of the pedestrianised centre of the town, there is no access to the site except on foot. St Helen's church was built to replace one originally built in the mid 18th century, this original church was sadly destroyed by fire in 1916 and the was demolished as a result. The present church was built in 1926, largely of the local red brick and in a faux gothic style. The church clearly has little of interest to Pevsner as he dismisses it in the space of less than 10 lines merely describing its major features. The church sits in a central square surrounded by business premises and shops, Church Street which runs along the north of the building is now pedestrianised but provides the best access. Despite its town centre location there are no impediments to photography.