St James' Church, New Brighton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St James' Church, New Brighton
St James' Church, New Brighton, from the southwest
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OS grid reference	SJ 307 939
Location	Victoria Road, New Brighton, Wirral, Merseyside
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Low church
Website	St James with Emmanuel, New Brighton
History
Status	Parish church
Consecrated	10 July 1856
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	17 October 1986
Architect(s)	George Gilbert Scott
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1854
Completed	1856
Construction cost	£12,523 (including parsonage)
Specifications
Materials	Stone, slate roof
Administration
Parish	New Brighton, St. James with Emmanuel
Deanery	Wallasey
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St James' Church is a beautiful old church located on Victoria Road in New Brighton, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It's an active Anglican church, meaning it's part of the Church of England, and it serves the local community as a parish church. It's also recognized as a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historical building that needs to be protected.

History of the Church

St James' Church was built a long time ago, between 1854 and 1856. The famous architect George Gilbert Scott designed it. The first stone was laid on February 16, 1854, by the Bishop of Chester, John Graham. The church was officially opened and blessed on July 10, 1856. Building the church and its nearby house cost £12,523 back then. Later, in 1924, a small room called a vestry was added on the south side.

Architecture and Design

Outside the Church

St James' Church is built from stone with a slate roof. It has a special shape called a cruciform plan, which looks like a cross from above. The church has a main area called the nave with tall windows above, known as a clerestory. There are also side sections called aisles.

You can see north and south transepts, which are the "arms" of the cross shape. The chancel is the area near the altar, and it has a unique angled east end. There's also a small chapel and a vestry on the south side. The church has porches on the north and south, and a tall steeple at the northeast corner.

The windows along the sides of the aisles are in pairs, with strong supports called buttresses between them. The tall windows in the clerestory are triangular. At the front of the church, there's a main doorway with three tall, narrow windows called lancet windows above it, and a round window too. The transepts also have three lancet windows and a round rose window.

The chancel has two-light windows, meaning they have two sections, on its three angled sides. The chapel also has two-light windows. The tower has four levels. The top level has two-light openings with louvres for the bells, and a decorative edge called a cornice. On top of the tower is a pointed roof called a broach spire, with small windows called lucarnes.

Inside the Church

Inside St James' Church, you'll find rows of arches called arcades supported by round columns. The arch leading to the chancel also has round columns with fancy leaf designs on their tops, called capitals. There's a low iron screen that separates the chancel from the rest of the church.

The wooden pulpit, where sermons are given, has eight sides and is decorated with figures. The reredos, which is a decorated screen behind the altar, was made in 1897 by A. O. Hemming. He also painted the walls and ceiling of the chancel in 1899.

The church's first pipe organ was built in 1891. It was repaired in 1910 after being damaged by a gas explosion. This old organ was replaced in 2006 by a different one that was moved here from another church.

More to Explore

• List of new churches by George Gilbert Scott in Northern England
• Listed buildings in New Brighton, Merseyside