Visit to the First Mosque in England and the First Cast Iron Church in the World

The Abdullah Mosque and Heritage Centre, 8-10 Brougham Terrace, Liverpool L6 1AE (parking opposite)
The Abdullah Mosque was opened by William Henry Quillam, a Liverpool solicitor and convert to Islam, in 1887. It rapidly grew to provide a centre of education and community relief. The Abdullah Quillam Society undertook a major refurbishment programme of the three remaining Georgian houses. Recently they have acquired West Derby Registry Office and have ambitious plans for a Heritage Centre. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see this well-known Liverpool building, much of which is work-in-progress. Do not expect a dome and minarets but we will see the prayer room and recently completed ablution/wudu areas, also the newly plastered rooms in the older part of the building.

Sensible, easily removed shoes are recommended and ladies are asked to cover their heads.

St George’s Church, Everton L5 3QG (parking in side streets)
We will move on to St George’s Church, Everton which was built in 1814 by John Cragg on the former site of the Everton Beacon, at the highest point of the village and designed by Joseph Gandy and Thomas Rickman. Externally the church appears to be built from local sandstone but once inside, the iron framework is apparent, forming the skeleton around which the stonework was built. After a population explosion of 112% from 1851 to 1861, extra seating was created on the first floor. The church has very fine stained-glass windows, some of which suffered bombing during WW2.