St James' Church, Briercliffe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St James' Church, Briercliffe
St James' Church, Briercliffe, from the east
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OS grid reference	SD 867 349
Location	Church Street, Briercliffe, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Liberal Anglo-Catholic
Website	St James, Briercliffe
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint James the Great
Consecrated	26 September 1841
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	10 March 1987
Architect(s)	Edmund Sharpe Paley and Austin
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1839
Completed	1992
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone, slate roof
Administration
Parish	St James, Briercliffe
Deanery	Burnley
Archdeaconry	Blackburn
Diocese	Blackburn
Province	York

St James' Church is located on Church Street in Briercliffe, Lancashire, England. It is an active church for the Anglican faith. This church is part of the Burnley area, within the larger diocese of Blackburn.

St James' Church is a very special building. It is protected as a Grade II listed building. This means it is important for its history and design.

History of St James' Church

St James' Church was built between 1839 and 1841. A famous architect named Edmund Sharpe designed it. Building the church cost about £1,300 back then. Most of the money came from people donating. The land for the church was given by the Duke of Buccleuch.

The church was officially opened and blessed on September 26, 1841. Bishop John Bird Sumner of Chester led the ceremony. At first, 515 people could sit inside the church. In 1843, the area around the church became its own special church district.

In 1869, a new steeple was added to the church. Other changes were made by Paley and Austin. They were architects who took over Edmund Sharpe's business. New pews were put in during 1881, and the old pulpit was removed. In 1992, the choir room was made bigger. A new meeting room was also built.

Church Design and Features

Outside the Church

The church is built from sandstone and has a slate roof. It is designed in the Early English Gothic style. This style was popular for churches a long time ago. The church has a main area called a nave and a shorter section called a chancel. There is also a tower at the west end.

The roof is very steep. It looks like it's divided into three parts. However, inside, the church is one big room with a flat ceiling. The walls of the nave have buttresses. These are supports that stick out. Between these supports are tall, narrow windows called lancet windows.

The tower has two main parts. The bottom part has a door on the west side. Above the door are more lancet windows. From this part, an eight-sided section rises up. This section holds the church bells. On top of that is a short, eight-sided spire. At the east end of the church, there is a special window. It has three lancet windows grouped together.

Inside the Church

Inside St James' Church, there are galleries on three sides. These are like balconies. They are held up by cast iron columns. The galleries have box pews, which are like enclosed seating areas.

The church has a large organ with two keyboards. It was built in 1865 by Foster and Andrews. This company was from Hull. The same company made improvements to the organ in 1901 and 1906. In 1927, another company cleaned the organ. It was restored again in 1989.

What Makes the Church Special?

Some experts have described St James' Church in different ways. One book called it "a small, rather strange church." However, another expert, Hughes, disagreed. He said it is "one of Edmund Sharpe's more delightful designs." The official description from the National Heritage List for England says it is "unusually unaltered." This means it still looks very much like it did when it was first built in the 1800s.

Churchyard Features

The churchyard is the area around the church. It contains the war graves of seven soldiers. Five of these soldiers died in World War I. The other two soldiers died in World War II.

More Information

• Listed buildings in Briercliffe
• List of architectural works by Edmund Sharpe
• List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin