John Cragg

Interior of St Michael's Church, Aigburth showing Cragg's ironwork
Murfas - Own work. Created: 27 September 2008
CC BY-SA 3.0. File:St Michael's Interior Aigburth.jpg.

of the Mersey Iron Foundry, 13 Tithebarn Street, Liverpool (not to be confused with various other Mersey iron works).

Biographical

John Cragg was born in Warrington in 1767.

Cragg died on 17 July 1854, aged 87, and was buried in St James Cemetery, Liverpool.

Patent

1809 Patent 3277, 21 November 1809: Casting iron roofs for buildings, and covering them with slate.

Church Building

Cragg built three churches in Liverpool, making extensive and pioneeering use of cast iron for structural and decorative purposes. This would have allowed light and economical construction.

The first example was St. George's Church, Everton, whose outer shell is sandstone, while extensive use is made of Gothic-style iron castings for the interior structure (columns, roof-beams, braces and panels), and decorative features and window frames.

The second church was St. Michael's in Cragg's village, St. Michael's Hamlet (Aigburth), opened in 1814 or 1815. See photo. Many of the same patterns were said to have been used for the castings. This would have certainly been economocal. The exterior was clad in brick.

The third example was St. Philip's, Hardman Street (central Liverpool), completed in 1816. The church was closed in 1882 and most of its stained glass and furnishings were said to have been moved to a new St Philip’s Church in Sheil Road. The building was sold to the Salvation Army, who constructed a new building around it, with a terraced frontage on Hardman Street. Various uses followed, until 2017 when the building was demolished to make way for yet another student accommodation block. It had been claimed that little of significance was left of the church, but demolition revealed walls containing tall Gothic cast iron windows - some still glazed! For more information and photos, see here. More photos here. The complexity and slenderness of the window frame castings demonstrate the very highest standards of foundrywork.

Business

1840 Advert: 'TO BE LET, for a Term of Years, the MERSEY IRON FOUNDRY, Tithebarn-street. This extensive and long-established Iron Foundry, with Steam-engine, Boring Miil, Cranes. Machinery, Air Furnace, Cupolas, and Fixtures, would afford a New Concern an opportunity of commencing work instantly, the Premises (with Gas light Apparatus) being precisely in the same position as when the late occupant declined business.
The large and correct Collection of Gothic and other Architectural Models, as well the Patterns, Boxes, and every convenience for Casting and Fitting-up Articles required for the Export Trade (for which business the contiguity of this Foundry to the Exchange-buildings renders it particularly eligible), may taken at a valuation.
Apply to John Cragg, at the Mount.'

1843 Sale Notice: 'TO IRON FOUNDERS, ARCHITECTS, AND BUILDERS, MESSRS. THOS. WINSTANLEY and SONS are directed bv the Proprietor to SELL by AUCTION, on the Premises, TITHEBARN-STREET, Corner of Cheapside, on Thursday, 28th, and Friday,29th September instant, Eleven o’clock precisely each day, The REMAINING STOCK and UTENSILS IN TRADE of the MERSEY FOUNDRY, comprising a 6-HORSE HAND GEER STEAM-ENGINE, with Boiler &c ; POWERFUL BORING MILL, a SUGAR MILL, several TURNING LATHES, a small SCREWING MACHINE, LARGE and EXCELLENT WOOD CRANE, with Chain, Blocks and Pulleys; several SMALLER WOOD and CAST IRON ditto, of different powers; a great variety of CASTING BOXES, SMITHY TOOLS in ANVILS, SWAGE BLOCKS, VICES. BELLOWS, &c; Large and Small Furnace Ladles, Iron Sugar Pan Patterns in sizes, a large quantity Casting Boxes for pots and pans, 3 Ship Cabooses, several valuable Architectural Castings of Arches, Pillars, Rails, &c. ; a quantity of Welsh Kettles, Rice-pans, a large Garden Roller, Cast and Wrought Scrap-iron, &c.
A VERY EXTENSIVE ASSORTMENT ofWOOD and IRON PATTERNS and MODELS for GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, consisting of Arches of different dimensions, WINDOW FRAMES and SASHES, Panels, &c.; Bannisters, Rails, amongst which will be found the patterns for those Gothic Structures, ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, Toxteth-park, ST. PHILLIPS, Hardman-street, Liverpool, and ST. GEORGE’S, Everton, with others suited for domestic Buildings together with a variety of Articles useful to the Trade.
To be viewed Two Days previous to the Sale, when Catalogues may be had on the Premises, and at Messrs. Thos. Winstanley and Sons’ Office, Church-street.'

The foundry was built on the site of a former public bowling green at the {later) junction of Tithebarn Street and Cheapside, putting it a few hundred yards north east of the entrance to Liverpool Exchange Station on Tithebarn Street.

See Also

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