St James' Church, Cooling facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St James' Church, Cooling |
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St James' Church, Cooling, from the southwest
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| OS grid reference | TQ 756 759 |
| Location | Cooling, Kent |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint James |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 21 November 1966 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Ragstone, flint, chalk, and sandstone Roofs tiled |
| Bells | 3 |
| Tenor bell weight | 6 long cwt 3 qr (760 lb or 340 kg) |
St James' Church is an old Anglican church in the village of Cooling, Kent, England. It is no longer used for regular church services. This church is a very important building, listed as a Grade I listed building. It is looked after by a special group called the Churches Conservation Trust. The church is located on the Hoo peninsula, about 6 miles (10 km) north of Rochester. To its north, there is only marshland between the church and the River Thames.
History of St James' Church
The building of St James' Church began in the 1200s and continued into the 1300s. The top part of the tower was added later, around the year 1400. In the 1800s, the church was fixed up. During this time, a small room called a vestry was added, and the entrance porch was rebuilt.
The church stopped being used for regular services on November 19, 1976. It was then officially given to the Churches Conservation Trust on May 31, 1978. Today, a group called the Friends of St James' Church helps to care for it. The church is open every day for visitors to explore.
This churchyard was the inspiration for the start of Charles Dickens' famous book Great Expectations. In the story, the main character, Pip, meets the convict Magwitch here. In 2005, the famous musician Jools Holland married the sculptor Christabel McEwan inside the church.
Architecture and Design
St James' Church is built using different types of stone, including ragstone, flint, and chalk. Some repairs have been made with sandstone. The roofs of the church are covered with tiles.
The church's layout includes a main hall called a nave with a porch on the south side. There is also a chancel (the area around the altar) with a vestry on its south side, and a tower at the west end. The windows in the nave are from the early 1300s, while those in the chancel were added in the 1400s.
The doorway on the north side is now blocked, but its wooden door, which is 500 years old, is still there and can still swing open. Inside the chancel, you can see a triple sedilia (seats for priests) and a double piscina (a basin for washing sacred vessels).
The font, used for baptisms, dates back to the 1200s. It has a square bowl supported by five pillars. The pulpit, where sermons are given, is from the 1700s. At the west end of the church, there are six benches that are likely from the 1300s. The other benches were replaced in 1869.
There are four special stone slabs on the floor of the nave that remember people. One of these is from 1611. Another remembers Feyth Brook, who passed away in 1508. She was the wife of Thomas Brook, Lord Cobham, who lived in Cooling Castle.
The inside of the vestry is completely covered with cockle shells. These shells are the symbol of Saint James, to whom the church is dedicated. The colorful stained glass in the east window was made in 1897 by Clayton and Bell. It shows the Ascension, which is when Jesus went up to heaven. The organ, which has one keyboard, was probably made around 1880 by A. Kirkland.
There are three bells in the church, all made in the 1600s. However, they cannot be rung anymore. The largest bell has the words "MICHAEL DARBIE MADE ME 1651" written on it and weighs about 6.3 long tons (6,400 kg). An expert named Peter Romney checked the bells in 2004. He believes the frame holding the bells might be from the medieval period. The parts that hold the bells might be from 1675, which is the date of the newest bell. Even though the bells have full wheels, Romney thinks they were never rung in a full circle. This is because there are no stays (parts that stop the bell from swinging too far) and the ground pulleys are in the wrong place. It's possible these bells were made from older bells, or that the medieval-looking frame was actually built in the 1600s to look old.
Outside the Church
In the churchyard, there is a large stone chest tomb from the early or middle 1700s. This tomb is also a listed building, designated as Grade II. Also in the churchyard, you can find a row of 13 small gravestones for children. They are about 18 inches (46 cm) long. These gravestones are famously known as "Pip's Graves," because of their connection to the Dickens novel.
See also
