St Bartholomew's Church, Rainhill
| St Bartholomew's Church | |
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Front entrance
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 St Bartholomew's Church
Location in Merseyside
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| Coordinates: 53°24′27″N 2°45′03″W / 53.4076°N 2.7509°W | |
| OS grid reference | SJ5017890352 |
| Location | Rainhill, Merseyside |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | StBartsRainhill.co.uk |
| History | |
| Founder(s) | Bartholomew Bretherton |
| Dedication | Saint Bartholomew |
| Consecrated | 24 August 1840 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Active |
| Functional status | Parish church |
| Heritage designation | Grade II listed |
| Designated | 28 January 1971 |
| Architect(s) | Joshua Dawson |
| Groundbreaking | April 1838 |
| Construction cost | £8,000 |
| Administration | |
| Deanery | St Helens South |
| Archdiocese | Liverpool |
| Province | Liverpool |
St Bartholomew's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Rainhill, Merseyside. It was built in 1838-40 in the style of the Church of San Bartolomeo all'Isola in Rome. It is a Grade II listed building and is situated on the A57 road (Warrington Road) leading out of Rainhill and is next door to Loyola Hall. It was described by Nicholas Pevsner as 'The noblest Catholic church in South Lancashire'.
The church was founded by Bartholomew Bretherton (d. 1857) who was the owner of the family coaching business and main landowner in Rainhill. He lived in Rainhill Hall next to the church that became Loyola Hall, when the Jesuits moved there in 1923. As well as being a business and landowner, he was also uncle of Bartholomew Bretherton (1812-1866) a winner of the Grand National in 1840.
Before it was built, the Catholics in Rainhill had to travel to the Jesuit church in Prescot, Our Lady Help of Christians Church or St Bede's Church in Widnes.
Bartholomew Bretherton chose the location where the church would be built, on the Warrington Road, in direct sight of anyone travelling down the main road through the village. He also chose the design for the church and wanted it to be dedicated to his own patron saint, Saint Bartholomew. The design he chose was by a local architect, Joshua Dawson. The architect went to Rome to look at the Church of San Bartolomeo all'Isola there. In 1838, building started and the stones were taken from a local quarry that the Bretherton family owned. The foundation stone was laid by Bartholomew Bretherton's daughter, Mrs Mary Gerard in April 1838.
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