St Mary's Church, Woolton

The church was built in 1859–60, and designed by R. W. Hughes, an architect from Preston. It was opened on Sunday, 28 October 1860. The church was re-decorated in 1981–82, and the font was moved to the front of the church. The church's foundation stone was laid on September 11, 1859. The Church was known as Saint Benet's until 1881, when it became known as Saint Mary's.

Inside the church, the high altar and reredos date from 1865, and were probably designed by E. W. Pugin. They were separated in 1948–50 by Weightman and Bullen, who placed the reredos against the east wall. The stained glass in the east window dates from 1878, and is a typical design by the Belgian stained glass painter Jean-Baptiste Capronnier.

A Catholic community has been present for over 300 years. Notable dates in the community's history include: {| class="wikitable" !Year ! rowspan="51" | !width=900|Event |- |1715 |Benedictine Chaplains to the Molyneux family at Woolton Hall. |- |1731 |The ‘Woolton Mission’ was founded at St. Benet's Priory in Watergate Lane.<br /> The Parish school – Much Woolton Catholic Primary now stands on this site. |- |1795 |The exiled Benedictine nuns of Cambrai, the future Stanbrook Abbey, moved into 43-47 Woolton Street and ran a girls' school until they moved away in 1808. |- |1859 |The Foundation Stone of the present Church was laid by parish priest Placid Burchall and dedicated to the patronage…