Woolton, Much
The chapel, dedicated to St. Peter, is a handsome structure of stone, with a tower and small dome; it was erected in 1826, and enlarged in 1840. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Childwall; net income, £170, with a house. The tithes of Much Woolton and Thingwall have been commuted for £145 payable to the lessee of the Bishop of Chester, and £35. 5. to the vicar. Woolton Priory, in a luxuriant vale below the village, consists of a Roman Catholic chapel, built more than a century ago; a house for the priest, the Rev. Samuel Phillips, who has been 22 years resident; two schools, and five acres of land. In the chapel is an altar-piece, the Enthronement of the Virgin, by Perugino; also the Taking down from the Cross, by Quintin Matsys; the Entombment of Christ, after Vandyke; an Ecce Homo, and other paintings. The Wesleyans have a place of worship; and there are excellent schools connected with the Established Church. Some springs on the hill are strongly impregnated with iron.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.