St James' Church, Enfield Highway, is an active Anglican church in Hertford Road,

Enfield Highway Enfield Highway is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is roughly located in the area either side of Hertford Road (Enfield Highway) between Hoe Lane and The Ride. Etymology Enfield Highway is marked thus on the Ordnance ...

, Greater London. It is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the deanery of Enfield, the archdeaconry of Hampstead, and the diocese of London.

History

St James' was the first Anglican place of worship to be established in the parish of Enfield in addition to the parish church. It was built by subscription as a chapel of ease on land given by Woodham Connop and consecrated on 15 October 1831 by the Bishop of London, Charles Blomfield. A district was assigned to the church on 9 December 1833, comprising the whole of the parish of east of a line drawn at a distance of 150 yards to the west of the main road from Edmonton to Cheshunt. The church was licensed for marriages in 1845. The architect was William Conrad Lochner (c.1779-1861), surveyor to the Royal Exchange Assurance Co., who designed a church in a very similar style at

de Beauvoir Town De Beauvoir Town is a neighbourhood in east London and is in the London Borough of Hackney, north of the City of London. The area was a part of the Hackney; the Ancient Parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough that was incorporated into t ...

, Hackney, and restored St Andrew's church, Enfield. It was built from stock brick with stone dressings in a plain "Commissioners gothic" style with aisles and a western tower. Structural problems with the church soon emerged. In 1841 the ''Ecclesiologist'' magazine reported "St James Enfield Highway which has been consecrated six or eight years, is already condemned as 'dangerous', since the heavy tied roof is threatening to fall in from the rotting of the ends of the beams, which are said to have been laid in the most disgraceful manner upon the mere damp brick-work" The first incumbent was T.W. Thirlwall. He was succeeded by Charles Warren, J.R. Nicholl and, in 1841,

John Fuller Russell John Fuller Russell (1813–1884), was a priest in the Church of England, a writer, mostly on theological subjects, especially religious ritual, and a notable art collector. He was a member of the committee of the Ecclesiological Society and had ...

. Russell, who remained at the church until 1854, was a theological writer, a committee member of the high church

Cambridge Camden Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,Histor ...

and a notable collector of early religious art. In 1854 he published ''Obedience to the Church in Things Ritual: Two Sermons Preached in St. James’s Church, Enfield Highway''. A large chancel was added at the expense of the Rev J. Harman in memory of his wife and consecrated in 1864. The east end of the church was seriously damaged by a fire in 1967, and considerable alterations were in the course of repairs, including the removal of the chancel arch and extension of the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

. With its population of over 26,900 in the localities of Enfield Highway and

Brimsdown Brimsdown is a neighbourhood of eastern Enfield in the London Borough of Enfield, north London, on the west side of the mid-to-lower Lea Valley. Geography The east of Brimsdown, that is, east of the eastern Lea Valley line is one of the borough ...

, it is one of the largest

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es in England. The church has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

References

Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Enfield Grade II listed churches in London 19th-century Church of England church buildings Diocese of London {{UK-listed-building-stub