In the early days of the 17th century, during the reign of James I, a band of Puritans cleared away the heavy forests to the south of the City of Liverpool, and settled what is known as Toxteth Park. In this park they erected a stone chapel so they might hear the doctrines of the Reformation. The chapel, pictured above, is a plain square building with no steeple or belfry. Among the tablets on the interior walls is one bearing the inscription:
“Near this walk rest the remains of several generations of an ancient family of
Yeomanry
In the 1600s, a yeoman was a free landowner in England, considered part of the middle class, who owned and worked their own small farm. They were often seen as the backbone of English society at the time.
named Mather, who were settled in Toxteth Park as early as the reign of Queen Elizabeth. They were distinguished by many virtues and by strong religious feeling, and were among the fairest specimens of those who, in former times, were called Puritans”.
Photos of the Ancient Chapel and documents from the Liverpool Library. Photography and scanning by W. Hoskisson, Liverpool England and Amy Mather, Omaha, Nebraska