Church of St James the Great, Haydock

The Church of St James the Great is in Church Road, Haydock, a former mining community, now part of the Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside, in the North-west of England (postcode WA11 0NJ). It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool, the Archdeaconry of St. Helens and Warrington and the Deanery of Winwick.[1]

Church of St James the Great, Haydock
Church of St James the Great, Haydock Location in Merseyside
OS grid reference	SJ 564,970
Location	Church Road, Haydock, Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Traditional Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1866
Dedication	St James the Great
Consecrated	11 December 1866
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	W. and J. Hay Douglas and Fordham
Architectural type	Church
Specifications
Materials	Brick, Timber framing with brick nogging
Administration
Parish	St James the Great, Haydock
Deanery	Winwick
Archdeaconry	St. Helens and Warrington
Diocese	Liverpool
Province	York
Clergy
Bishop(s)	The Rt Revd Glyn Webster (AEO)
Vicar(s)	Fr. Rodney Middleton
Honorary priest(s)	Fr. Robin Pettitt
Curate(s)	Fr. Ian Wynne (NSM)
Laity
Reader(s)	Dr. David Martlew
Churchwarden(s)	Philip Peplow, Nancy Holloway

History

Haydock National School was opened on this site in 1837, Church services being conducted in the main classroom by clergy from Ashton. (It now forms a meeting room connecting the Church to the adjacent Vicarage). By 1861 the rising population of Haydock made this provision inadequate. It was hoped to build a large parish church in the centre of the community, but to solve the immediate problem it was decided to build a chapel attached to the School, and connected to it by large double doors. This chapel, the original church, was designed by W. and J. Hay[2] and built by George Harris of St. Helens. It was consecrated on 11 December 1866 . At the laying of the foundation stone the dedication was stated to be to St. Alban, but at the consecration of the building as the Parish Church of the newly founded Parish the dedication was made to St. James the Great.[3]

By 1888 this had become too small for the growing population. Rather than building a new church on another site it was decided to build onto the existing chapel and in 1889 plans were approved for a substantial extension. The foundation stone for this was laid on 5 October 1889 and the newly extended church was opened on 25 July 1891, although it was not consecrated until June 1892. The original church became the Lady chapel of the enlarged church.[4] The extension was designed by Douglas and Fordham.[2] In 1929–31 due to structural problems, the chancel, sanctuary and west wall were rebuilt and the spire was removed. Between 1988 and 1990 the church was reordered, providing a spacious chancel area and a new chapel,[4] The chapel is dedicated to St. Alban,

Present day

The parish stands in the Traditional Catholic tradition of the Church of England. As it rejects the ordination of women, the parish receives Alternative Episcopal Oversight from the Bishop of Beverley (currently Glyn Webster).[5]

Architecture and fittings

The original church was small and built of brick. It now forms the Lady chapel of the church. The newer part of the church is timber framed with brick nogging on a sandstone plinth. This style was chosen because its flexibility would give protection against possible mining subsidence. The liturgical east end was originally timber framed but this was rebuilt in brick and render in 1929–31. The interior of the church contains much dark-stained oak.

The most striking feature of the Church is the hanging rood dated 1952, designed by Edward Hines of the Warham Guild and carved by Jethro Harris. In the Lady Chapel is a triptych dated 1999 made from icons from the monastery of Barsana in Romania.[2] In St. Alban's Chapel is an icon-style crucifix commissioned from a Romanian artist.

The present organ is on a raised platform over the entrance to the Church. Plaques nearby state that it was originally built by Harrison and Harrison for Lochend United Free Church, Cambeltown, in 1922, being rebuilt and modified for St. James's by David Wells of Liverpool in 1986.

Some photographs of the interior can be found on the church's website stjamesthegreat.org.uk.

External features

The churchyard contains the war graves of eight soldiers of World War I.[6] The Miners' Memorial in the style of a continental wayside cross stands near the entrance to the Church, over the common grave of many of those killed in the Woodpit mining disaster of 1878.

Activities

The church is in the high church tradition of the Church of England[4] and runs services on Sundays and some weekdays,[7] arranges baptisms, weddings and funerals[8] and runs a number of parish groups.[9]

See also

• List of new churches by John Douglas

References

1. Deanery of Winwick, Diocese of Liverpool, retrieved 14 April 2009
2. Pollard, Richard; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 195–196, ISBN 0-300-10910-5
3. Lowe, G.E. (1996). A History of the Parish of St. James the Great. ISBN 0952781409.
4. About us, St James the Great, Haydock, archived from the original on 17 May 2009, retrieved 21 March 2008
5. "Episcopal Oversight letter" (PDF). St James the Great, Haydock. 22 August 2016. Archived from the original (pdf) on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
6. HAYDOCK (ST. JAMES THE GREAT) CHURCHYARD, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 4 February 2013
7. Welcome, St James the Great, Haydock, retrieved 21 March 2008
8. Baptisms, weddings and funerals, St James the Great, Haydock, archived from the original on 25 November 2009, retrieved 21 March 2008
9. Parish groups, St James the Great, Haydock, archived from the original on 24 November 2009, retrieved 21 March 2008

Further reading

• Hubbard, Edward (1991), The Work of John Douglas, London: The Victorian Society, pp. 181–182, ISBN 0-901657-16-6