St James' Church, Enfield Highway, is an active

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

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 (building), 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 com ...

in the deanery of Enfield, the archdeaconry of Hampstead, and the

diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

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 A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

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 The Royal Exchange Assurance, founded in 1720, was a British insurance company. It took its name from the location of its offices at the Royal Exchange, London. Origins The Royal Exchange Assurance emerged from a joint stock insurance enterpri ...

Co., who designed a church in a very similar style at

de Beauvoir Town De Beauvoir Town is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hackney, north of the City of London. It is sometimes described as a part of Dalston. The name is pronounced variously; notably () and (), with the former giving rise to its traditi ...

, 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,

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

. 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 boroug ...

, it is one of the largest

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

References

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