A Liverpool Exemplar - James Nugent

James Nugent was born on the 3rd of March 1822 in Hunter Street, Liverpool, the eldest of nine children born to an Irish father, John, a poultry dealer, and an English mother, Mary, a convert to Catholicism. At that time educational facilities for Catholics were few, so he was educated at a private school under the patronage of Reverend James Picton of Christ Church, Liverpool.

His father wanted James to pursue a business career but his mother and the local priest encouraged him to enter the priesthood.instead and in 1838 went to the College of St Cuthbert, Ushaw in County Durham. After 5 years there he went to the English College, Rome where he was ordained to the Diaconate in 1845 before being ordained as a priest at St Nicholas', Liverpool in 1846. On New Year's Day 1849, after serving in parishes in Wigan and Blackburn, Father Nugent was back at St Nicholas' Parish as their curate. Living conditions in Liverpool in the 1840s were terrible with great poverty and sickness and thousands of children were homeless. Father Nugent decided to do something about this situation and so in 1849 he opened a Ragged School at Copperas Hill to take homeless children off the streets offering them shelter, food and clothing. On the 7th of January 1850 he opened a Middle School for Boys in Rodney Street along with Father Worthy and also brought the teaching order of Notre Dame to the city in 1851 to staff the Catholic Poor Law Schools. In 1856 the Catholic Reformatory Association was established with James Nugent as secretary. He was appointed the first Catholic chaplain to Walton Gaol on the 1st of January 1860 and in the same year was named as the owner and editor of the Northern Press in 1859, founding The Catholic Times in 1860 and a number of other publications. 

With a night shelter and refuge, giving homeless boys food and lodging established, in 1867, with over 48,000 boys receiving supper and 3,000 a night's lodging, Father Nugent realised that more was needed. As well as accommodation, Father Nugent was keen to provide educational opportunities and it was clear that a residential school was essential. Appointed to the board of St George's Industrial Schools he was acting Headmaster in 1866 and The Boys' Refuge, a certified Industrial School, was opened in 1869 in St Anne’s Street, Liverpool teaching shoe making, tailoring, joinery and printing, which continued until 1923. Between its opening in 1865 and its closure five years later, 2,000 boys learned a trade there. It only took him two years to raise the money and lay the foundation stone for the Catholic Institute in Hope Street, ( there was no such resource in the city when he went to school ) and he was appointed Director of the Institute and lived at 26 Hope Street until 1863. This work is continued to this day through St Edward's College.

Another concern of Father Nugent was the fate of women after their discharge from prison. He had seen first hand the need to provide support for women on their release during his 22 years chaplaincy at Walton Prison. Father Nugent persuaded the Order of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God to establish a refuge to help such women. Some years later a home for mothers and their babies, the House of Providence, was established in Dingle. In its first year Father Nugent reported that 33 mothers and their babies had found shelter there.

He also promoted the use of Penny Savings Banks to help the poor set aside money when they could for hard times. Feeling drink and the money spent on it was a great social evil, his League of the Cross for Total Abstinence spread across the world, as far as India and Australia, and he helped many destitute Liverpool people to emigrate abroad in search of a better life, with 24 leaving for Canada and in 1880 he took 300 from Galway to Minnesota. The Catholic Children's Protection Society had set up two homes in Canada to cater for children who wished to emigrate; these were St. George’s Home for Boys in Ottawa and the St. Vincent’s Home for Girls in Montreal.

He was made a Monsignor in 1890 and was held in such high esteem by the citizens of Liverpool that on the 5th of May 1897, at a special ceremony at St George’s Hall, he was presented with a portrait of himself at a public meeting which was attended by thousands. By now he had retired from priesthood and was mainly lecture touring. He died aged 83 on the 27th of June 1905 at Harewood House, Formby from pneumonia. This was following a bad fall on RMS Oceanic on his return from a trip abroad. His funeral was huge, with thousands coming to pay their last respects as he was buried in Ford Cemetery. On the 8th of December 1906 a statue was erected in St Johns Gardens, Liverpool, commemorating all he had achieved in his lifetime.

He was an important character in the development of social welfare and his influence and expertise extended beyond Liverpool. His importance to the generations of Liverpool people who followed him is immense. He saw the deprivation suffered by the people of the city and did something to help by highlighting the issues facing them and encouraging those with power, money and influence to help. His work is continued today through the work of Nugent Care - his lasting legacy to the people of Liverpool.

see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/03/a-liverpool-exemplar-emma-holt.html