As you reach the end of the south aisle, you will see the Children’s Corner on your left.
This area was a gift in 1937 as a thank offering for the recovery of a little girl, Cora Hayden, from a serious illness. Cora was born in 1932 and was the daughter of Mr Arthur Hayden and his wife, Rachel. Cora became gravely ill but thankfully recovered. In 2010 during major alterations, it was moved to its present position as a more convenient place to accommodate children during services. It is very popular as you can imagine. The furniture in the Children’s Corner consists of a small round table and three chairs. The table was a gift from the Revd Canon and Mrs Lovett in memory of their son Colin, who died at the age of 10 months in 1929. The three small chairs are in memory of Margaret (Peggy) Elsie Welsby, who died of diphtheria at the age of 11 in 1935.
Three boards detailing the rectors and then vicars of Prescot church hang on the south aisle wall. Originally they hung in the chancel, being the result of research carried out by the Revd Patterson, who was a curate at Prescot in 1902. Known rectors date from the 12th century until the middle 15th century. The patronage of the rectory belonged to various Norman families, then was acquired in 1391 by John of Gaunt and passed by inheritance to Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI. In 1445 Henry VI appropriated the rectory to his newly founded college (known as King’s College) in Cambridge. The large parish, covering 15 townships, resulted in large profits from the township tithes. The larger of these tithes went to the college.
Above the rectors and vicars is the coat of arms of King George III, painted between 1760, when he became monarch, and 1800. After the Reformation in 1534, a law was decreed that royal arms had to be displayed in all churches as a reminder of who was the head of the Church of England.
Thomas Mead was the vicar when the church was built in 1610, and the John Ogle chair in the sanctuary bears the name of Thomas Mead on the reverse.