There is evidence that there has been a Church on the site since Anglo-Saxon times. As many of you know, the name Prescot originates from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Preosta-Cote’, which means ‘Priest’s Cottage’, and the circular shape of the original Churchyard is typical of Churches built before the Norman conquest.
It is likely, therefore, that there have been burials here since those times.
The Church is first mentioned in records of 1140 but the earliest burial record dates from 1521, when there were burials within the Church itself, the first names recorded for that year being a Mr. Cowper, Katheryn Shaye and John Hapton or Hatton. There followed a series of burials within the church between 1521 and 1530.
Burials within the original circular Churchyard began to be registered in 1562, the first entry being Thomas Houlmough. However, the registers for burials between 1563 and 1573 were badly damaged and legible entries then recommence in October 1573. There was little or no detail of those buried until 1578 when places of residence began to be recorded. There is a gap between 1655 and 1665 when no burial records remain but from 1665 onwards more details were entered in the registers, for example names of father, mother or spouse. Occupations began to be stated later, in some cases, followed gradually by ages at death.
By the time of the late 1840s, the original circular burial ground was becoming full with no new burial plots available. Additional land was acquired to the south allowing the churchyard to be extended down to what is now Manchester Road. This was laid out, as can be seen today, with a central north to south tree lined avenue and an east to west crosswalk, roughly halfway down, running between the boundary walls of Garden Walk and the Vicarage grounds.
In 1895 the widening of Church Street was proposed which required possession of a small section of the Churchyard and involved the removal of affected gravestones which were relocated to new positions in the areas around the Church.
The extended Churchyard filled with burial plots relatively quickly and by 1906 additional land was needed. A further small extension was added to the west by incorporating the lower area of the Vicarage gardens which, by 1923, was again filled with purchased plots and the new cemetery was opened.
In the early 1970s the Local Authority took the decision to redevelop the area around the Church which involved removing all the old gravestones from within the original circular burial ground to facilitate relandscaping and the relocation of the war memorial from the junction of Church Street and West Street to its new position. The gravestones were used for new paved areas around the Church, cut to fit, with the remaining fragments and some full stones discarded.
The Garden of Rest was also created with a few of the old gravestones selected to be relaid within it including the oldest surviving one, the Hatton family stone.
The bottom section of the extended Churchyard adjacent to the new cemetery now accommodates the relocated BICC war memorial and the area below has been dedicated to the burial cremated remains and associated memorial headstones.
In recent decades the Churchyard was neglected and became overgrown and inaccessible until 2013 when the Friends of Prescot Cemetery & Churchyard was formed whose volunteers gradually cleared it and added new features turning it into the welcoming and peaceful place you can experience today.