St Mary's Church, Presbytery and Convent, Little Crosby 1.98

St Mary's Church, Presbytery and Convent are in Back Lane, Little Crosby, Sefton, Merseyside, England. The church is an active Roman Catholic parish church in the diocese of Liverpool which was built in 1845–47. The presbytery and convent were both built in the 18th century, and altered in the 19th century. The convent originated as a chapel, and has since been converted into a private dwelling. Both the church and the former convent with its attached presbytery are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade II listed buildings.HistoryThe Blundell family of Crosby Hall have been lords of the manor of Little Crosby since the Middle Ages. A recusant Roman Catholic family, they built a chapel and a presbytery near the hall in the early 18th century. There is a date stone on the rear wing of the presbytery dated 1719, and there is surviving 18th-century fabric in the rear windows of the former chapel.The church was built in 1845–47 and was designed by Weightman and Hadfield, It was paid for by William Blundell, and consecrated on 7 September 1847. Both the presbytery and the chapel were then much altered, the chapel being converted into a convent and schoolroom. In 1883 a south chapel in the form of a transept was added to the church. Later the convent became a private dwelling.