St James' Church, Ince

St James' Church is in the village of Ince, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.[1] It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Frodsham. Its benefice is united with that of St Mary, Thornton-le-Moors.[2]

St James' Church, Ince
St James the Great, Ince
St James' Church, Ince, from the southwest
St James' Church, Ince Location in Cheshire
OS grid reference	SJ 450 764
Location	Ince, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	Parish website
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	26 September 1963
Architect(s)	Simon Ripley Edward Hodkinson
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic, Gothic Revival
Completed	1854
Specifications
Length	101 feet
Nave width	Nave and aisle - 45 feet
Height	Tower - 51 feet
Materials	Red sandstone Grey slate roofs
Administration
Parish	Thornton-le-Moors with Ince and Elton
Deanery	Frodsham
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Revd Dr Ruth Ackroyd

History

A Norman chapel once stood on this site. The present church was built in the medieval period but only the tower and part of the chancel remain from this date.[3] The chancel is in 14th-century Decorated style and possesses a three-light Decorated window in its east wall.[4] The chancel has a 17th-century oak arch-braced collar roof.[1] The Perpendicular[4] tower by Simon Ripley dates from around 1485–93. The chancel roof, though restored, dates from 1671.[4] The nave, aisle and porch were rebuilt in 1854 in Perpendicular style by Edward Hodkinson, and the tower was raised by two courses.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is built in red sandstone with a grey slate roof.[1] Its plan consists of a west tower, a five-bay nave with a north aisle, and a chancel with a lower roof.[5]

Interior

Interior

The deeply carved altar table is Jacobean, and the altar rails date from the late 17th century. Also in the chancel is a sanctuary chair of 1634 and a two-tier candelabrum dated 1724.[3] The royal coat of arms of Queen Anne are in the nave.[4] The communion rail with twisted balusters dates from the late 17th century. In the chancel are two stained glass windows by Kempe. [6] There is a ring of three bells, two of which are dated 1622 and 1636. The parish registers begin in 1687 and the churchwardens' accounts in 1749.[3]

• 
  Altar
• 
  Sanctuary chair

External features

The sandstone 19th-century churchyard wall is a Grade II listed building.[7] In the churchyard, north west of the tower, is the war grave of a Royal Navy sailor of World War II.[8]

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester
• Listed buildings in Ince

References

1. Historic England, "Church of St James, Ellesmere Port (1138815)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 August 2012
2. St. James the Great, Ince, Church of England, retrieved 10 January 2011
3. Richards, Raymond (1947), Old Cheshire Churches, London: Batsford, pp. 190–194, OCLC 719918
4. Morant, Roland W. (1989), Cheshire Churches, Birkenhead: Countyvise, p. 143, ISBN 0-907768-18-0
5. Salter, Mark (1995), The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire, Malvern: Folly Publications, pp. 42–43, ISBN 1-871731-23-2
6. Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 414, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
7. Historic England, "Churchyard wall at St James' Church, Ellesmere Port (1138813)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 August 2012
8. CROWDER, JACK, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 3 February 2013

External links

• Photographs by Craig Thornber