All Saints' Church, St Helens

All Saints’ Church stands on Ellamsbridge Road in Sutton, Merseyside, a few minutes from St Helens town centre. It is an active Anglican parish church designed in the late 19th century by the Lancaster firm Paley, Austin and Paley. The building is made of red sandstone with cement-tile roofs and follows a cruciform plan. A five-bay nave leads to north and south aisles, transepts and a two-bay chancel. The Gothic Revival style shows in pointed windows, buttresses and a large five-light west window.

The church is worth the journey for its clear links to the Pilkington glass family. William Pilkington gave the land and £1,000 towards the cost, and his daughter laid the foundation stone in 1891. The Rt Revd John Ryle, Bishop of Liverpool, consecrated the church in 1893. Inside, the octagonal piers and the east window’s stained glass—made in 1905 by Shrigley and Hunt—honour the family. The organ, donated by William Pilkington in 1900, still stands at the west end.

Visitors find an interior described as ‘impressive’ and ‘dignified’. The crossing piers were built to support a tower that was never added. Two bays at the west end now form a parish room separated by a glazed screen. After a fire in 2020, the church is being cleaned and restored. Nearby St Nicholas Church hosts the Sunday services while work continues.