St James the Great Church, Wrightington

St James the Great Church, Wrightington
St James the Great Church, Wrightington, from the south
St James the Great Church, Wrightington Location in the Borough of West Lancashire
53°37′01″N2°43′03″W / 53.6169°N 2.7175°W / 53.6169; -2.7175
OS grid reference	SD 526,136
Location	Wrightington, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St James the Great
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint James
Consecrated	1857
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	19 August 1988
Architect(s)	E. G. Paley
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Completed	1857
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone rubble, slate roof
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	Blackburn
Archdeaconry	Blackburn
Deanery	Chorley
Parish	Wrightington
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Polly Mason
Laity
Churchwarden(s)	Anne Sharples
Parish administrator	Mrs S. Crawford

St James the Great Church is in Church Lane, to the west of Wrightington in Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Chorley, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. ^[1] The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. ^[2]

The Church's community also runs a theatre group, known as 'The St James Players', for people of all age to participate in, and performs an annual play or pantomime in the theatre building directly across from the Church itself.

History

The church was designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley. It was built in 1854, but not consecrated until 1857. As originally built, it provided seating for 400 people. ^[3]

Architecture

Exterior

St James' is constructed in sandstone rubble and has a slate roof. Its plan consists of a four-bay nave with a south aisle, a south porch, and a chancel. At the west end is a rose window, above which is a gabled bellcote. Along the north wall of the nave are four pairs of lancet windows, between which are buttresses, and along the south wall of the aisle are three similar windows. The chancel has two lancets in the south wall, and a triple stepped lancet window at the east end. ^[2]

Interior

Inside the church is an arcade carried on alternate round and octagonal piers. The church has an open timber roof. ^{[2] [4]} The two-manual organ was made in 1916 by Jardine of Manchester and modified in about 1985 by Pendlebury of Cleveleys. ^[5] The authors of the Buildings of England series express the opinion that the church is "nothing special". ^[4]

External features

The churchyard contains the war graves of a soldier and an airman of World War II. ^[6]

See also

• Lancashire portal

• Listed buildings in Wrightington
• List of ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley

References

1. St James the Great, Wrightington w Heskin, Church of England , retrieved 22 May 2011
2. Historic England, "Church of St James, Wrightington (1073009)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 1 June 2012
3. Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 216, ISBN   978-1-84802-049-8
4. Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 712, ISBN   978-0-300-12667-9
5. Lancashire, Wrightington, St. James the Great, Church Lane (E01392), British Institute of Organ Studies , retrieved 22 May 2011
6. WRIGHTINGTON (ST. JAMES THE GREAT) CHURCHYARD, Commonwealth War Graves Commission , retrieved 17 February 2013

External links

• St James the Great – church website