Church of St James the Great, Haydock

The Church of St James the Great is in Church Road, Haydock, a former mining community, now part of the Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside, in the North-west of England (postcode WA11 0NJ). It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool, the Archdeaconry of St. Helens and Warrington and the Deanery of Winwick.

1. History

Haydock National School was opened on this site in 1837, Church services being conducted in the main classroom by clergy from Ashton. (It now forms a meeting room connecting the Church to the adjacent Vicarage). By 1861 the rising population of Haydock made this provision inadequate. It was hoped to build a large parish church in the centre of the community, but to solve the immediate problem it was decided to build a chapel attached to the School, and connected to it by large double doors. This chapel, the original church, was designed by W. and J. Hay and built by George Harris of St. Helens. It was consecrated on 11 December 1866 . At the laying of the foundation stone the dedication was stated to be to St. Alban, but at the consecration of the building as the Parish Church of the newly founded Parish the dedication was made to St. James the Great. By 1888 this had become too small for the growing population. Rather than building a new church on another site it was decided to build onto the existing chapel and in 1889 plans were approved for a substantial extension. The foundation stone for this was laid on 5 October 1889 and the newly extended church was opened on 25 July 1891, although it was not consecrated until June 1892. The original church became the Lady chapel of the enlarged church. The extension was designed by Douglas and Fordham. In 1929–31 due to structural problems, the chancel, sanctuary and west wall were rebuilt and the spire was removed. Between 1988 and 1990 the church was reordered, providing a spacious chancel area and a new chapel, The chapel is dedicated to St. Alban,

1. = Present day =

The parish stands in the Traditional Catholic tradition of the Church of England. As it rejects the ordination of women, the parish receives Alternative Episcopal Oversight from the Bishop of Beverley (currently Glyn Webster).

1. Architecture and fittings

The original church was small and built of brick. It now forms the Lady chapel of the church. The newer part of the church is timber framed with brick nogging on a sandstone plinth. This style was chosen because its flexibility would give protection against possible mining subsidence. The liturgical east end was originally timber framed but this was rebuilt in brick and render in 1929–31. The interior of the church contains much dark-stained oak. The most striking feature of the Church is the hanging rood dated 1952, designed by Edward Hines of the Warham Guild and carved by Jethro Harris. In the Lady Chapel is a triptych dated 1999 made from icons from the monastery of Barsana in Romania. In St. Alban's Chapel is an icon-style crucifix commissioned from a Romanian artist. The present organ is on a raised platform over the entrance to the Church. Plaques nearby state that it was originally built by Harrison and Harrison for Lochend United Free Church, Campbeltown, in 1922, being rebuilt and modified for St. James's by David Wells of Liverpool in 1986. Some photographs of the interior can be found on the church's website stjamesthegreat.org.uk.

1. External features

The churchyard contains the war graves of eight soldiers of World War I. The Miners' Memorial in the style of a continental wayside cross stands near the entrance to the Church, over the common grave of many of those killed in the Woodpit mining disaster of 1878.

1. Activities

The church is in the high church tradition of the Church of England and runs services on Sundays and some weekdays, arranges baptisms, weddings and funerals and runs a number of parish groups.

1. See also

List of new churches by John Douglas

1. References


1. Further reading

Hubbard, Edward (1991), The Work of John Douglas, London: The Victorian Society, pp. 181–182, ISBN 0-901657-16-6

Nearby Places View Menu

Haydock

Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward. Haydock is located within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire. The village is located to the north-east of the adjacent St Helens, with most of its residential estates and commercial property built either side of the A599. Historically a township and large pastoral area, Haydock was found to be rich with coal and the area grew in significance during the Industrial Revolution particularly with the coming of the canals and railways. In the 1930s, the north side of Haydock was bisected by the A580 East Lancashire Road; this dual carriageway connected the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, with several junctions serving St Helens and Haydock. The area to the south of the East Lancs road saw large post-war residential development, while the area to the north, that was initially open pits, saw large scale industrialisation. More recently, the area north of the road has seen the development of distribution centres encouraged by the proximity of junction 23 of the M6 motorway and Haydock's convenient transport links to Liverpool and Manchester. Haydock is the home of the Haydock Park Racecourse, while the old mining tip and spoil areas south of the village have been developed into the Lyme & Wood Pits Country Park.

Event Industrial

Wood Pit disaster

The Wood Pit disaster was a mining accident on 7 June 1878, when an underground gas explosion occurred at the Wood Pit, in Haydock, then in the historic county of Lancashire, in North West England. The official death toll was 189 although contemporary reports at first stated that over 200 had been killed.

Historic Site Landmark

Haydock Collieries

Haydock Collieries were collieries situated in and around Haydock on the Lancashire Coalfield, England. The company which operated the collieries was Richard Evans & Co Ltd.

Historic Site Industrial

853 m

Haydock railway station

Haydock railway station served the village of Haydock, formerly in Lancashire, now in Merseyside, England. The station was on the Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway line from Lowton St Mary's to the original St Helens Central railway station where it was crossed by what is now the A599 in the centre of the village. East of the station was the 99 yards (91 m) Haydock Colliery Tunnel, the only tunnel on the line. It was built at the railway's expense using the 'cut and cover' method. Its sole purpose was to burrow beneath Haydock Colliery's tracks.

Landmark Train