The story of our stained glass souvenirs

You may have seen that we have pieces of stained glass for sale. If you have, we thought you might like to see how that happened.

For over 150 years, visitors to St Peter’s Church Hall have enjoyed the beauty of two large stained glass windows.

A few years ago, we noticed that the lead that held each pane in place was buckling, but the first sign of real trouble came when one of the panels fell out of the windows!

Fortunately it was saved, and is now on permanent loan to the Beatles Museum on Mathew Street! We feel very honoured that Roag Best thought that our glass was worthy of a place amongst his magnificent collection! Click HERE for more information on the Liverpool Beatles Museum!

Then, in 2019, we received the sad news that the windows were beyond repair and had to be replaced. Visitors to St Peter’s that summer were encouraged to take one last look at the windows before the glaziers moved in …

But that isn’t the end of the story.

The windows are too beautiful and too historic to end up in a skip. Having been in the Church Hall since it was built in the mid-nineteenth century, they have illuminated key moments in history — not least the meeting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney on July 6, 1957 and the beginning of a musical partnership that would change the world!

So every single panel has been saved, and gradually we’ve been dismantling them and preparing them for sale.

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If you’re wondering why we went to all this trouble, it’s because we wanted to share these gorgeous and historic pieces as widely as possible, and they will all be made available for sale. All income from the sales goes toward the upkeep and mission of St Peter’s Church, and so, in buying something beautiful, you are also doing something beautiful

We managed to remove over 600 panes intact, and these are for sale at £50 a pane, or £175 for a set of all four colours. Each pane is approximately 10cm square and comes with a printed Certificate of Authenticity (postcard size).

The bottles with the glass fragments are also for sale at only £10! They come with a printed Certificate of Authenticity (business card size).

At the moment, the Stained Glass souvenirs are only available to buy at St Peter’s Church – via the Simon Peter Centre or in the Church Hall when we open for visitors (for example, during Beatle Week). However, we will be making these available on our eBay shop in the autumn. More details coming soon — watch this space!

We were very sad to learn that David Moore, a much-loved, long-serving and devoted member of St Peter’s Church, died recently.  Not only will David be remembered for his many years as organ-master at St Peter’s, but also for the time that he spent with visitors to St Peter’s sharing his memories of a young Paul McCartney. 

David attended the Liverpool Institute at the same time as Paul, and was in the same class.  More famously, David was in the group alongside Paul that auditioned to join the choir of Liverpool Cathedral.  As David told us, “I auditioned for the choir at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral at the same time as Paul McCartney.  We were asked to sing scales, and “Once in Royal David’s City.”  I passed the audition … Paul didn’t!”

Our thanks go to David for sharing his memories, and our love, thoughts and prayers are with David’s wife, family and friends at this very sad time.

We can’t wait to welcome you all back to St Peter’s Church and Church Hall for International Beatle Week 2021!

Although we adore every single band that has ever played in St Peter’s Church Hall, we have to confess that the Blue Margarets are one of our favourites! Their joy and love for the music was always plain to see and we couldn’t help but love them!

We were delighted when the Blue Margarets visited the Church Hall in 2015, and gave us an impromptu concert. We were extremely honoured when the ladies told us that that St Peter’s was a special place for them and it has been a privilege to welcome them back over the years.

Like so many, we were absolutely devastated to read the news this morning, posted by her husband, that Satomi has passed away after a recent illness.

Satomi will always be a part of St Peter’s Church Hall. We will always value her friendship, remember her happy smile and be in awe of her amazing talent as a musician. She brought happiness and beauty to so many people here in Liverpool, and around the world, and we will be forever grateful to have known her. We will never forget her.

Our love, thoughts and prayers are with Satomi’s husband, family and friends at this very, very sad time.