All Saints Church

Speke, Liverpool, UK

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Village to Estate

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Welcome to 

Sadly for those of us who know and love St Aidan's, the Church had to close in 2009 due to ongoing and irreparable problems with the building. The congregation was determined to keep St Aidan's going however, and  moved into Middlefield School in Speke, using their hall for worship and the Annex for other activities during the week.

As you can see from these photographs, every care was been taken to keep the Church looking good but underneath the decorations, the bricks are mortar were crumbling and the boiler was dying, and despite everyone's best efforts, it was felt it was time to move on.

Now St Aidan's has opened their new premises at 10 Eastern Avenue called

The Place to Be, a Cafe Church for all the community!  This will run alongside the worship and activities at Middlefield School which has worked so well.  You can see some photos from the opening on 2nd October 2010 on the St Aidan's photo page link below.

At our Cafe Church we hope to be able to help our local neighbourhood find a sense of community and togetherness which is often lacking in our lives today; a place where spiritual needs are met; a place where we can love and support one another and a place where together we can show the love of Christ in action, especially through our wonderful gifts of fellowship and hospitality. 

The Cafe will be open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 7.30 am to 2.30 pm and is open to everyone.  Worship will continue on a Sunday afternoon and also midweek.  One afternoon a get together for older people be taking place, a Messy Church for families once a month and an Advice Cafe with local agencies will happen weekly.

Please contact me on the main website page for more details of the happenings at St Aidan's or drop in to 10 Eastern Avenue (near to where the old bus terminus was) and have a cuppa and chat!

'Do not dwell on the past, see I am doing a new thing!  

I am making a way in the desert... 

I provide water in the wasteland to give drink to my people.' Isaiah 43

St Aidan's History

St Aidan's Church was built in the centre of the estate of Speke in 1957 following a 'Buy A Brick' campaign to raise funds for a new Parish Church in addition to All Saints when it became clear that the smaller Church wasn't big enough to look after the new flock on the growing estate.  

St Aidan's  was consecrated on 21st December 1957 in a service led by the Lord Bishop of Liverpool, Clifford Arthur, the Archdeacon of Warrington, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and many local dignitaries.   Mr E Broadfoot was the People's Warden and Mr J Critchley, the Vicar's Warden and the Foundation Stone was laid in 1956 by Charles Gladstone, a distant relation to the famous Prime Minister.

In the service sheet the following comments were made about the new Church:

'With the building of the Church we have now realised our aim, the creation of a Church centre for pioneer evangelistic work. '

The hymns sung at the Consecration service are just as familiar today as they were then: Christ is made the sure Foundation; Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire;  Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken, and Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven.

The Sentence of Consecration

'By virtue of our sacred office in the Church of God we do now declare to be consecrate, and set apart for ever from all profane and common uses, this House of God under the dedication of Saint Aidan, together with it's Chapel under the dedication of Saint Thomas.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, 

be honour and glory for ever and ever. '

At the west end of the Church was the organ gallery and choir vestry although the organ was played from the front of the Church in more recent years so the organist didn't feel left out up in the loft!  At the Consecration Service though only half the organ was in place because the rest of it was still being brought down, bit by bit from Aberdeen!  The first organist at St Aidan's was Arthur Reynolds.

Rev Graham Spiers, the first Vicar at St Aidan's made collections in the local breweries to raise money to buy the organ (that's the story anyway) and later on the Norris family of Speke Hall paid half the money for its upkeep.  The other Ministers in the team were Curates Rev Michael Dewsbury and Rev Russell Twyford.

As you can see from these photographs St Aidan's was still well loved and cared for until the end

with many banners and artwork by the congregation on display around the Altar.

Photographs of St Aidan's can be found by clicking on the fish

What's On at St Aidan's at the moment                         

St Aidan's is dedicated to Saint Aidan whose symbol is a flame.

If you click on this flame in any St Aidan's pages, it will always bring you

safely back to this home page.