St James' Church is in Barry Street, Greenacres Moor, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church in the deanery of Oldham East, the archdeaconry of Rochdale, and the diocese of Manchester. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It was a Commissioners' church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission.

History

The foundation stone was laid by James Lees of Higher Clarksfield on 3 September 1827. The church was built between 1827 and 1829 to a design by Francis Goodwin. A grant of £9,652 () was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. The original commission for the design was won by Charles Barry, but he underestimated the cost of the church, and was replaced when the tenders were received. The apse was added in 1883 by John Lowe of Manchester.

Architecture

Exterior

St James is constructed in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone with Welsh

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs. Its plan consists of a nave, north and south aisles, a shallow

canted Cant, CANT, canting, or canted may refer to: Language * Cant (language), a secret language * Beurla Reagaird, a language of the Scottish Highland Travellers * Scottish Cant, a language of the Scottish Lowland Travellers * Shelta or the Cant, a lan ...

apse at the east end, a west tower, and vestries to the north and south of the tower. The tower has a west door with a two-light window above it, and clasping buttresses topped with gables. Over the second stage is a parapet with an integral surround for a clock face. Above this flying buttresses support an octagonal lantern that contains bell openings. The parapet is

embattled A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

. There is another doorway on the south side of the church. The aisles are of six

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, separated by buttresses, each bay containing a two-light window with Decorated cast iron tracery. The chancel also contains two-light windows.

Interior

Inside the church are galleries on three sides. The chancel screen with a

rood loft The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

date from the 1920s, and were built as a memorial to the First World War. There is a central ogee-headed arch, over which is a crucifix. At the sides of this are panels with inscriptions under statues of Saint George and Saint Michael. In the chancel are a canopied

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

and a sedilia. The stained glass includes windows by

Shrigley and Hunt Shrigley and Hunt was an English firm which produced stained-glass windows and art tiles. History The business began in the 1750s when Shrigley's was a painting, carving and gilding firm in Lancaster, Lancashire. In 1868, control of Shrigley's ...

Present day

The Parish of St. James with St. Ambrose Oldham is part of the Archdeaconry of Rochdale in the Diocese of Manchester. St James' Church is part of the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England. As the parish rejects the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

, it is a member of Forward in Faith and receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Beverley (currently

Stephen Race Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

References