Church of St James -Great Packington from NW 3a2008

Blickling mausoleum and great packington church plans

St James' Church is an 18th-century chapel situated in the grounds of

Packington Hall Packington Hall is a 17th-century mansion situated at Great Packington, near Meriden, Warwickshire, England the seat of the Earl of Aylesford. It is a Grade II* listed building. History It was built in 1693 for Sir Clement Fisher on whose ...

, near Meriden,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. It is a

Grade I 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 ...

. The church was built in 1789 to a design by architect Joseph Bonomi for the

Earl of Aylesford Earl of Aylesford, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1714 for the lawyer and politician Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Guernsey. He had already been created Baron Guernsey in the Peerage of England in ...

as a private family chapel. It is said to commemorate the recovery of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

from insanity. The red brick church, in neo-classical style, has an unusual square plan with four corner turrets topped with domes and

finials A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, tower ...

. It houses an organ built by Thomas Parker, to specifications outlined by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

in 1749, for his librettist

Charles Jennens Charles Jennens (1700 – 20 November 1773) was an English landowner and patron of the arts. As a friend of Handel, he helped author the libretti of several of his oratorios, most notably ''Messiah''. Life Jennens was brought up at Gopsall H ...

. Jennens' home

Gopsall Gopsall (or Gopsall Park) is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Twycross, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is located between the villages of Appleby Magna, Shackerstone, Twycross and Sn ...

Hall, has not survived, but the organ passed to his relatives the Earls of Aylesford. The instrument was filmed and recorded for the documentary ''

The Elusive English Organ Daniel Moult (born 1973) is a concert organist, educator and animateur, ensemble player and presenter of films about music. Education Daniel Moult was born in Manchester. He attended Manchester Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford, wher ...

''.

References

''A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 4'' (1947) pp180-183 from British History Online
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Packington, St James' Church Grade I listed churches in Warwickshire 18th-century Church of England church buildings Church of England church buildings in Warwickshire