Church of St James the Less, Tatham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Church of St James the Less, Tatham
Church of St James the Less, Tatham, from the southeast
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OS grid reference	SD 606694
Location	Tatham, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St James the Less, Tatham
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint James the Less
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	4 October 1967
Architect(s)	Paley and Austin (restoration)
Architectural type	Church
Style	Norman, Gothic
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, stone slate roof
Administration
Parish	Wray
Deanery	Tunstall
Archdeaconry	Lancaster
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	Province of York

The Church of St James the Less is a historic church located in the village of Tatham, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican church, meaning it belongs to the Church of England. This church is part of a group of churches in the East Lonsdale area.

The church is a very important building. It is listed as a Grade II* building on the National Heritage List for England. This means it is a particularly important building of more than special interest. The church stands on high ground, safely above the River Wenning's flood plain.

History of St James the Less Church

A church has stood on this spot since at least the Norman era, which was a very long time ago. Most of the church you see today was built in the 1400s. However, some parts are even older, dating back to the Norman period and the 1200s.

The church's tower was rebuilt in 1722. Later, between 1885 and 1887, famous architects Paley and Austin from Lancaster worked on the church. They added a special "saddleback roof" to the tower, which looks like a saddle.

They also did a big "Victorian restoration." This means they repaired and updated many parts of the church. They added a space for the organ and a vestry (a room for clergy). They also fixed walls, added new windows, and put in new fittings and a floor. The old ceiling was removed during this work. This restoration cost a lot of money at the time, about £3,269.

Architecture of the Church

Outside the Church

St James' Church is built from sandstone rubble, which means it uses rough, uneven pieces of stone. Its roof is made of stone slates. The church's layout includes a main area called the nave, a north aisle (a side section), a south porch, and a chancel (the area around the altar). It also has a vestry and organ chamber on the northeast side, and a tower at the west end.

The tower stands on a plinth (a base) and has two setbacks, which are steps in the wall. At the very top, it has a saddleback roof with gables (triangular parts of the wall) facing north and south. Along the south wall, you can see several windows. These windows have a style called Perpendicular tracery, which means they have decorative stone patterns. There is also a buttress, which is a support built against the wall.

The outer doorway of the porch has a pointed arch. Above it is a slate sundial, which tells time using the sun. The inner doorway is from the Norman period, but it has been repaired a lot over the years. On the north wall of the aisle, there are two more windows. One has two lights (sections), and the other has three lights. Both have trefoils (three-leaf shapes) at the top. Between these windows is another doorway with a pointed arch. The organ chamber has a gabled roof and a three-light window with Perpendicular tracery. The vestry has a two-light window with Y-tracery, which is another type of stone pattern. The large east window has three lights with intersecting tracery, where the stone patterns cross over each other.

Inside the Church

Inside the church, between the nave and the aisle, there is a three-bay arcade. This is a row of arches. These pointed arches are supported by octagonal piers (strong columns). The bases and capitals (tops) of these piers are thought to be from the 1100s.

In the floor of the chancel, there is a medieval grave-cover, which is a stone slab from the Middle Ages. Also in the chancel are a triple sedilia (seats for clergy) and a piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels). Both of these have trefoil heads and have been restored. The sandstone font, where baptisms take place, is octagonal and has carvings.

The choirstalls (seats for the choir), pews (benches for the congregation), and pulpit (where sermons are given) were all designed by Paley and Austin. The beautiful stained glass in the east window was made by Burlison and Grylls in the late 1800s. This window also includes older glass from around 1300 to 1400. It shows the arms of the Duke of Lancaster in a style called grisaille, which uses shades of grey. The west window in the aisle has stained glass by Shrigley and Hunt, made in 1909. It shows Saint Helen.

Inside the church, you can also find brasses from the 1600s. These are engraved brass plates that remember people. There are also the painted royal arms of King George II. The church has a two-manual organ, which was built in the 1880s by Abbott. There is a ring of three bells in the tower. The oldest bell was made in 1771, and the other two were cast in 1887 by John Taylor and Company.

External Features

The churchyard, which is the area around the church, contains a war grave. This grave belongs to a sailor from the Royal Naval Patrol Service who died during World War II.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
• Listed buildings in Tatham, Lancashire
• List of works by Paley, Austin and Paley