St James (formerly known as St James-the-Less) is a former church in

Saint Peter Port St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St ...

, Guernsey. After falling out of use, it was converted in 1985 and is now used as a concert and assembly hall. It stands on College Street, roughly opposite Elizabeth College.

History

In October 1815 Admiral James de Saumarez suggested the idea of building a church for use by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

garrison based in Guernsey where services could be held in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

(as against French in other island churches). The church was designed by

John Wilson John Wilson may refer to: Academics * John Wilson (mathematician) (1741–1793), English mathematician and judge * John Wilson (historian) (1799–1870), author of ''Our Israelitish Origin'' (1840), a founding text of British Israelism * John Wil ...

and completed by 1818, at a cost of nearly £7,000. Sketched in 1832 by J. M. W. Turner. Used as a chapel by nearby Elizabeth College. In 1970 the church became redundant and started to decay until in 1981 ''The Friends of St James'' association was formed to restore and manage the building. The

States of Guernsey The States of Guernsey (french: États de Guernesey), sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guer ...

agreed to pay for this restoration in 1983 and the building was officially re-opened on 5 July 1985 by the

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edw ...

. The restoration of the building winning a Civic Trust Award in 1986. In 2002 the Dorey Centre, comprising meeting rooms, café and administration offices, were completed, which gave the centre additional facilities such as exhibition space and to cater for formal dinners and weddings. The gallery was chosen to house the Guernsey Millennium Tapestry.

Features

* Whittaker Hall with superb acoustics for concerts, can accommodate 576 people in theatre style seating or 217 for dinners * Dorey Room can seat 90 people * Founders Room can seat 35 * Walter Room, boardroom * Rothschild Room, boardroom * Café St James * Bailiwick of Guernsey Millennium Tapestry

References

{{Coord, 49, 27, 24.3, N, 2, 32, 20, W, display=title Infrastructure completed in 1818 Buildings and structures in Saint Peter Port Churches in Guernsey Tourist attractions in Guernsey Entertainment in Guernsey Former churches in the United Kingdom

History

Features

See also

References