St James' Church, Poolstock
Encyclopedia
St James' Church, Poolstock, is in the Poolstock
district of Wigan
, Greater Manchester
, England. It is an active Anglican
parish church
in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Warrington, and the diocese of Liverpool
. St James' has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building.
on 15 September 1866. It was the centrepiece of a workers' industrial village, and was paid for by James C. Eckersley, a local colliery
proprietor, MP
for Wigan, and member of a mill-owning family. The estimate for the cost of its building was over £15,000 (£ as of ). It was designed by the Lancaster
architect E. G. Paley
. In 1970 the neighbouring Church of St Thomas closed, and the two parish
es merged.
from Parbold
. The roofs are slate
d. Its architectural style is Decorated. The plan consists of a five-bay
nave
with a clerestory
, north and south aisle
s, 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 buttress
es 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 crocket
ted niche
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 gable
d and louvred
bell openings on each side. At the summit is a frieze
decorated with ball flower
s under a pierced parapet
with crocketted pinnacle
s. The parapets of the naves and aisles are battlement
ed, 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 trefoil
s. On its south side, the first bay contains a chapel with a rose window
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.
are carried on alternate octagonal and quatrefoil
columns. The paired clerestory windows have detached marble
shafts. The stone reredos
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
. The two-manual
organ was made in 1865–66 by Hill and Son at a cost of £375 (£ as of ). It is thought that the organ case was designed by Paley. The ring
consists of eight bells, all cast in 1896 by Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
.
Poolstock
Poolstock is a residential area of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.Poolstock is south of the River Douglas and is situated next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and close to Wigan Pier and Wigan town centre which is in walking distance....
district of Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. It is an active Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the deanery of Wigan, the archdeaconry of Warrington, and the diocese of Liverpool
Anglican Diocese of Liverpool
The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey along with West Lancashire, Wigan in Greater Manchester, Warrington and Widnes in Cheshire...
. St James' has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building.
History
The foundation stone was laid on 1 September 1863. The church took three years to build and was consecratedConsecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on 15 September 1866. It was the centrepiece of a workers' industrial village, and was paid for by James C. Eckersley, a local colliery
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
proprietor, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Wigan, and member of a mill-owning family. The estimate for the cost of its building was over £15,000 (£ as of ). It was designed by the Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
architect E. G. Paley
Edward Graham Paley
Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley, , was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century.-Education and career:...
. In 1970 the neighbouring Church of St Thomas closed, and the two parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es merged.
Exterior
The church is constructed in sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
from Parbold
Parbold
Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire, England.-Local government:The 83 hectares of the 'urban settlement' of Parbold has a population of 2,700. This settlement forms part of the larger Parbold ward Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in...
. The roofs are slate
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. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
d. Its architectural style is Decorated. The plan consists of a five-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, a south porch, a two-bay chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with a chapel to the south and a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
to the north, and a west tower. The tower is large, in five stages, with angle buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es 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 crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ted niche
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
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 gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d and louvred
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
bell openings on each side. At the summit is a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
decorated with ball flower
Ball flower
The ball-flower is an architectural ornament in the form of a ball inserted in the cup of a flower, which came into use in the latter part of the 13th, and was in great vogue in the early part of the 14th century. It is generally placed in rows at equal distances in the hollow of a moulding,...
s under a pierced parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with crocketted pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament 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...
s. The parapets of the naves and aisles are battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed, 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 trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
s. On its south side, the first bay contains a chapel with a rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
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 arcadesArcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
are carried on alternate octagonal and quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
columns. The paired clerestory windows have detached marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
shafts. The stone reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
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 & Co.
Hardman & Co., otherwise John Hardman Trading Co., Ltd., founded 1838, began manufacturing stained glass in 1844 and became one of the world's leading manufacturers of stained glass and ecclesiastical fittings...
. The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ was made in 1865–66 by Hill and Son at a cost of £375 (£ as of ). It is thought that the organ case was designed by Paley. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of eight bells, all cast in 1896 by Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is a bell foundry in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The foundry is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain...
.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester
- List of churches in Greater Manchester
- List of ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley