St James' Church, Christleton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St James' Church, Christleton
St James' Church, Christleton, from the south
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OS grid reference	SJ 440 657
Location	Christleton, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St James, Christleton
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	1 June 1967
Architect(s)	William Butterfield
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Completed	1877
Specifications
Materials	Ashlar red and white sandstone Green slate roof
Administration
Parish	Christleton
Deanery	Chester
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St James' Church is a beautiful church located in the village of Christleton, Cheshire, England. It is a very important building, listed as a Grade II* listed building. This means it is a special historic building that needs to be protected. The church is an active Anglican parish church, which means it's a local church for the community. It is the only church in Cheshire designed by the famous architect William Butterfield.

History of St James' Church

The village of Christleton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, a very old survey from 1085. It is likely that a church stood on this spot even back then. In 1093, the right to choose the church's priest was given to the monks of St Werburgh's Abbey in Chester.

Around 1490, the church was rebuilt using stone. The tower built at this time is still standing today! The church was damaged during the English Civil War in the 1600s. Around 1730, the main part of the church (the nave) and the area near the altar (the chancel) were repaired.

However, in 1873, part of the roof of the nave collapsed during a church service. This led to plans for rebuilding the church. William Butterfield designed the new church, keeping the old 15th-century tower. He added gargoyles (carved stone figures) to each corner and a small spire on top of a turret. The rebuilding work happened between 1874 and 1878.

What Does St James' Church Look Like?

Outside the Church

The church is built from red and white sandstone that has been carefully cut into blocks (called ashlar). Its roof is made of green slate. The church has a main hall (the nave) and a chancel (where the altar is), all in one long section. It also has a clerestory (a row of windows high up) and side aisles on the north and south. There is a porch on the south side and small chapels next to the chancel.

The tower at the west end of the church has two main levels. It has strong diagonal supports (called buttresses) and a small stair turret at its southeast corner. The tower has a large window with three sections on its west side. The openings for the bells have two sections and are covered with louvred slats. The top edges of the tower (the parapets) are shaped like castle walls (called embattled) and have gargoyles. On top of the tower is a pointed, pyramid-shaped roof covered with shingles.

Inside the Church

Inside, the church is decorated with red and white sandstone. The upper parts have a cool checkerboard pattern. There isn't a big arch separating the nave from the chancel. Instead, a decorated panel (called a tympanum) marks where the two sections meet.

In the chancel, there is a large, beautiful altar screen (called a reredos) made of alabaster. It has panels filled with colorful mosaic art. The floor of the chancel is covered with special Minton tiles.

Many of the church's windows have amazing stained glass. The large west window, made in 1877, is by Gibbs. Most of the other stained glass was created by the company of Charles Eamer Kempe between 1884 and 1904. In the north aisle, there's a window from about 1986 by Cliff Boddy. A window celebrating the year 2000 is in the south transept, made by Bill Davies.

You can also see a large painted panel of the royal arms from 1665, painted by Randle Holme III. The font, used for baptisms, is made from Sicilian marble and sits on a Derbyshire limestone base. The benches for the churchwardens (church officers) have special covers (called canopies). The altar table itself is from the Jacobean era, a period in English history.

Inside the church, there's also a carving of a pelican feeding its young, which is a symbol of care. You can also see an old staff that a village constable (like a police officer) used to carry. The church has a two-manual organ, which was built by George Holdich and later updated around 1990 by Rushworth and Dreaper. The church also has a ring of eight bells, which were made in 1928 by John Taylor and Company.

Outside the Church Grounds

In the churchyard, you'll find a sundial made of red sandstone from the mid-to-late 1700s. There's also a headstone for William Huggins and his family from 1884. Both of these are also listed as Grade II historic items.

The churchyard also has a lych gate, which is a covered gateway at the entrance to a churchyard. This lych gate was also designed by William Butterfield. It's built from red sandstone blocks and timber framing (wooden beams), with a Welsh slate roof and red tiles on the ridge.

The churchyard is also a place of remembrance. It contains the war graves of six soldiers from World War I. One of them is Billy Matthews, a famous Welsh footballer. He is remembered as 'Shoeing Smith William Mathews, Royal Field Artillery'. There is also a soldier and a Home Guardsman from World War II buried here.