St James' Church is in the Poolstock district of Wigan, 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 Wigan, the archdeaconry of Wigan & West Lancashire, and the diocese of Liverpool. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

History

The foundation stone was laid on 1 September 1863. The church took three years to build and was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 15 September 1866. It was the centrepiece of a workers' industrial village, and was paid for by

Nathaniel Eckersley Nathaniel Eckersley (1815 – 15 February 1892) was an English mill-owner, banker and Conservative Party politician from Standish Hall, near Wigan in Lancashire. He sat in the House of Commons for three years in the 1860s, and two years in the ...

, a local colliery proprietor, MP for Wigan, and member of a mill-owning family. The Patron Saint of St James was chosen in memory of James Eckersley, the brother of the founder. The estimate for the cost of its building was over £15,000 (). It was designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley. In 1970 the neighbouring Church of St Thomas closed, and the two parishes merged.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is constructed in sandstone from

Parbold Parbold is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England. Local government Parbold had a population of 2,582 at the 2011 Census. West Lancashire is divided into 19 parish councils, the first tier of local government. Parbold is borde ...

. The roofs are

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. ...

d. Its architectural style is Decorated. The plan consists of a five-

bay 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 (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

nave with a

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

, north and south aisles, a south porch, a two-bay chancel with a chapel to the south and a vestry to the north, and a west tower. The tower is large, in five stages, with angle buttresses rising to the fourth stage. In the bottom stage is a west arched doorway containing double doors, over which is a four-light window. In the third stage is a crocketted

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

containing the date 1866 on the west side and two-light windows on the north and south sides. The fourth stage has clock faces, and the top stage contains pairs of two-light gabled and louvred bell openings on each side. At the summit is a frieze decorated with ball flowers under a pierced parapet with crocketted

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s. The parapets of the naves and aisles are battlemented, with pierced triangular upstands between the bays. At the east end of the nave are crocketted pinnacles. The two-light clerestory windows are in pairs, and along the aisles are three-light windows. The chancel is at a lower level and has a parapet of pierced trefoils. On its south side, the first bay contains a chapel with a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

on the south side, and two-light windows on the sides. In the second bays is a three-light window. The east window is large, and has five lights.

Interior

The arcades are carried on alternate octagonal and

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

columns. The paired clerestory windows have detached marble shafts. The stone

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 ...

is ornate. Below the east window is an arcade, and on each side of the window are two tiers of niches containing statues. The south chapel contains furnishings moved from St Thomas' Church. The north and south chancel windows contain stained glass by

Hardman Hardman may refer to: *Hardman (surname) Places United States *Hardman, Oregon, an unincorporated community *Hardman, Gilmer County, West Virginia, an unincorporated community See also * Hardman & Co., a stained glass maker * Hardman Peck, a pia ...

. The two-

manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...

organ was made in 1865–66 by Hill and Son at a cost of £375 (). It is thought that the organ case was designed by Paley. There is a

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

of eight bells, all cast in 1896 by Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poolstock, Saint James' Church Church of England church buildings in Greater Manchester Anglican Diocese of Liverpool Grade II* listed churches in Greater Manchester Gothic Revival church buildings in Greater Manchester Churches completed in 1866 19th-century Church of England church buildings Church buildings by E. G. Paley 1866 establishments in England