St Domingo Chapel and Everton's origins

The academic world exists almost as a parallel universe to the one we occupy on a daily basis that is driven by clickbait headlines and vacuous apologies for meaningful writing.

I've added a link to the University of Central Lancashire, from where the full PDF on Tom's dissertation — all 349 pages of it — can be downloaded.

I listen to podcasts and audiobooks and this may just trigger me to download a tool that will effectively turn any PhD Thesis into an audiobook — it's called Listening and is available on a 2-week free trial.

The very first mention of Everton in the Abstract hits on something that is particularly pertinent to at least one ToffeeWebber:

Profit seems to have been a priority for the original Everton FC and its positive commercial prognosis led to the club's selection as a founder member of the Football League.

That's a pretty good teaser for what's in store, but it doesn't seem to fit with the Corinthian image that Tony Abrhams and many others seem to have formed about the early years of football at the club.

There's the - everybody knows "this" and then there's - everybody knows "that"..

But in reality, everybody knows that what 'everybody knows' is wrong

(and who are these 'Everybodys' anyway?)

So what you do is, if the truth wasn't what you wanted it to be, you turned it into a different version of the truth.

Maybe not 'The Truth' and definitely not 'the whole Truth and nothing but the truth', just a version thereof - A Truth.

Strewth!

Michael, as a publisher aren't you supposed to traditionally - if given the choice between truth or legend - obliged to print The Legend...(which, as 'Everybody Knows' has some truth in it somewhere)?

A row over rent leading to the creation of Lucifer's Children. Or that we would have played at Anfield.

I always point out to our cousins. If you cross the road from the Kop, you are in L5, so technically in the district of Everton? Maybe someone can comment. I still debate whether Goodison is in Kirkdale or Walton.

Not sure you're on the right thread but you seem to be channelling the widely respected ramblings of one Donald Rumsfeld and his:

"As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know."

Talking of "The Truth", here's a Mythbuster for you and Tony to sleep on:

The present study provides compelling evidence that St Domingo's FC never existed and that Everton FC actually derived from a pre-existing Church of England football club.

This leads me onto the repeated debate about the naming of the stands for the new stadium following the stunning picture of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock I saw today.

Goodison
Prince Rupert's Tower
St Luke's
St Domingo

And get a statue up for the '80s team!

This bloke says that may not be true.

Here's another good one:

Even when the Football League began, Everton were still the only one of the twelve original clubs from a properly constituted city.

Not many people know that!

Clerks constituted the single largest employment group in the earliest football teams in Liverpool, with a sizeable minority of teachers and skilled manual workers. Casual unskilled workers, on the other hand, had little involvement with football in the early years.

I should really go to bed. This is going to get me into trouble.

Have a good night. I'm off myself having been hit on the other thread for my political comments.

I'll read into this tomorrow. Interesting subject and football / Everton related.

The alternative proposed seems equally sketchy, circumstantial, and grounded somewhat on supposition. The case made is a slight one, imo.

I was also surprised that this area of research didn't seem to touch upon the man generally credited with starting it all: Rev Ben Swift Chambers. Surely, he should merit a mention somewhere in the tale?

I have searched through all local Liverpool, Crosby, Bootle and Birkenhead newspapers and there is no mention of St Domingo Football Club whatsoever. There is no report of a change of name to Everton either. To that extent, his conclusion has a real element of validity.

Personally, I subscribe to the view that Everton was formed from the chapel team. Being local to the area, I was brought up believing it to be so. This is similar to the formation of Bootle FC from St John's Anglican church's football club in 1879.

Incidentally, Bootle's first fixture was in 1880 against … Everton.

I think that while ‘Casual unskilled workers‘ had little to do with organised football, they had more than plenty to do with playing football all over the city on waste ground, streets and parks and were just as good or better than the organised footballers.

Keep your religion for your home life and away from football, many thanks

In fact, most of the comments so far have been wide of the mark.

James, it is purely down to our history and heritage. It's not about religion.

The phrase " muscular Christianity" was coined. Football, cricket and other sports were encouraged by religious bodies to keep young men away from the pleasures of the flesh. Not sure how well that worked, to be honest! 🤔

Apologies for not being clear as obviously a comment 9 posts earlier was too far for you to scroll.

I am most interested in this short-lived and under-rated local team. If anyone has information relating to the White Star Wanderers other than newspapers and Internet sources, I will be pleased to learn of them.

Link

They didn't exist until we moved.

World famous Arkles my arse. Try the Brick.

I don't being labelled a Liverpudlian. Just don't.

It's offensive!!

Scouser, Evertonian, Liverpolitan.

But never a Liverpudlian.

Danny, I'd never heard of it until you started posting about it!

With my mates when we used to visit him on Arkles Lane and get fed by his good lady wife after the match.

It was his local.

I'd never heard of the pub until you told me that's where YOUR cousins (They're not mine) go to drink their shandies, Sake and schnapps after 80 mins… KAGSEFOOT!

I don't recall it being a Red House then, no paraphernalia around or crap like that, otherwise we'd have gone elsewhere. It must have realised the monetary value, customer wise, having having shite all over the place to entice the tourists in on matchday in later years.

The issue was raised at an Everton Heritage Society meeting some years ago and was shot down in spectacular – and scholarly – fashion!

The student's ‘compelling evidence' for the non-existence of St Domingo's was that no reference to St Domingo's FC ever appeared in 1878 or 1879 newspapers.

The outstanding local Everton historian Steve Flanagan, however, did unearth such a reference in the Liverpool Daily Courier from 20 October 1879 (Reproduction below):

ST. DOMINGO v. EVERTON CHURCH CLUB (Association). This match was played on the ground of the former, at Stanley Park, on Saturday last, and after a closely contested game victory rested with the St. Domingo by one goal to nil.

That alone appears to confirm St Domingo's existed as a football team, but there is other compelling evidence to verify the existence of St Domingo's FC.

An 1893 Handbook entitled ‘History of the Everton Football Club by Floreat Evertonae' which is now part of the Everton Collection also refers quite specifically to the members of St Domingo's Cricket Club forming a football section (see below).

“However, as far as authentic records carry us back, the year 1878 seems to be the first definite date where its chronicles begin. In that year the St. Domingo Cricket Club, playing upon a plot of ground opposite the old Anfield Cricket ground, in Oakfield Road (and whose members chiefly consisted of the younger portion of the worshippers at the Congregational Chapel, in St. Domingo Vale), in order to keep themselves in training during the winter months inaugurated a Football team for Saturday afternoons' practice. No matches were arranged, but those so disposed journeyed to Stanley Park and indulged in a little Football exercise. Their play, of course, was of a most elementary character. In the following year, 1879, the Club was properly organised under the name of St. Domingo Football Club. Matches were played against against St. Mary's, St. Peter's, Everton United Church, and Bootle St. John's, which latter club became, and has existed until recently as, the Bootle Football Club. About November the members appeared dissatisfied with their Club's name and, being ambitious of a more imposing one, at a meeting held at their then headquarters, Clarke's Queen's Head Hotel in Village Street, resolved unanimously to call their Club ‘The Everton Football Club', and Mr. J. Clarke was elected their first secretary.”

There is also Thomas Keates' Jubilee History of the club in 1928.

Mr Keates was a resident of Anfield (Rockfield Road and Anfield Road) from 1874 and involved with Everton since their earliest days, becoming a shareholder in the early 1890s and briefly a club director. He was surely personally aware of the club's birth. I find it fantastical that he would have repeated falsehoods.

I must admit I found the thesis initially troubling. Had we been labouring under a misapprehension for almost 150 years?

But thanks to the wonderful work by Steve Flanagan, Peter Lupson, my good friend Dr David France and Co, we can safely continue in the knowledge that St Domingo's FC definitely did begat Everton Football Club – and that 1878 IS our accurate date of birth!

Thank you for the excellent read regarding our founding.

I confess when I read it, I remembered reading much of it before in 1978, it was in a matchday program commemorating our 100 years, but like most curious and interesting snippets, memory fades and leaves a hole filled with alternative explanations. The truth is still there for all to see!

Thanks again, David.