St James' Church is a redundant

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 ...

church in Stirchley, Shropshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The churchyard is designated as a Scheduled ancient monument.

History

The church was built in the 12th century. In about 1740 the masonry of the nave and tower was encased in brick, and the tower was heightened. A north aisle was added in 1838 for the use of the workers in the local Old Park Ironworks, owned by

Thomas Botfield Thomas Botfield (14 February 1762 – 17 January 1843) was an English metallurgist, geologist, magistrate and deputy-lieutenant of Shropshire, and inventor of a method of smelting and making iron using the principle of "gas flame or heated air ...

. The church was declared redundant on 1 November 1975, and was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust on 30 March 2006.

Architecture

Exterior

The plan of the church is simple, consisting of a nave with a north aisle, a chancel, and a west tower. The chancel is in Norman style, and constructed in squared yellow sandstone blocks. The nave and tower are in Georgian style, and constructed in red brick with sandstone dressings. The chancel has round-headed

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...

s, and one south window with Y- tracery. In the nave there are two round-headed windows, and there a more round-headed windows in the north aisle. The tower is in three stages. In the bottom stage is a round-headed west doorway, and above it in the middle stage is a large round-headed window. The top stage has round-headed bell openings on each side. On the summit of the tower is a pyramidal roof with a

finial 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 (geometry), apex of a d ...

and a weathervane.

Interior

The most impressive internal structure is the Norman chancel arch. It consists of two orders of shafts and three orders of voussoirs, and is decorated with carvings of chain links, rosettes in lozenges, and two types of chevrons. The

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

are carved with scallops and foliage. The architectural historians John Newman and Nikolaus Pevsner describe the arch as being "quite incongruously ornate". Also in the church is a west gallery with a balustraded front, and a north gallery with tiered seating. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

, reading desk, and box pews all date from about 1740, and were rearranged in 1838. There is brass plaque to men of Stirchley who died serving World War I, as well as a row of four shields bearing each a name, three to men who died in the latter war, and one in World War II. The church also preserves a huge wooden roll of honour of men who served in World War I which was moved from St Luke's Church, Doseley (closed 1975). There is a ring of three bells. These were cast in 1410 by John de Colsale, in 1594 by Henry II Oldfield, and in 1664 by Thomas II Clibury.

References

External links