| St James' Church, Stirchley | |
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St James' Church, Stirchley
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| OS grid reference | SJ 699 067 |
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| Location | Stirchley, Shropshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint James |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 8 April 1983 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Norman, Georgian |
| Groundbreaking | 12th century |
| Completed | 1838 |
| Closed | 1975 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Sandstone chancel, Brick nave and tower with sandstone dressings |
St James' Church, Stirchley, is a redundant Anglican church in Stirchley, Shropshire, England (grid reference SJ699067). Stirchley was formerly a separate village but is now part of the new town of Telford. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building,[1] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2] The church and its churchyard are designated as Scheduled ancient monuments.[3]
Contents |
The church was built in the 12th century. In about 1740 the masonry of the nave and tower was encased in brick, and the tower was heightened. A north aisle was added in 1838 for the use of the workers in the local Old Park Ironworks, owned by Thomas Botfield.[4]
The church closed for worship in 1975 and came into the ownership of the Telford Development Corporation who were organising the building of the new town. It later came to be owned by English Partnerships. On 31 March 2006 the church was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust, and English Partnerships gave an endowment for its repair and care.[3]
The plan of the church is simple, consisting of a nave with a north aisle, a chancel, and a west tower. The chancel is in Norman style, and constructed in squared yellow sandstone blocks.[4] The nave and tower are in Georgian style,[1] and constructed in red brick with sandstone dressings.[4] The nave stands on a plinth of Grinshill stone.[3] The chancel has round-headed lancet windows, and one south window with Y-tracery. In the nave there are two round-headed windows, and there a more round-headed windows in the north aisle. The tower is in three stages. In the bottom stage is a round-headed west doorway, and above it in the middle stage is a large round-headed window. The top stage has round-headed bell openings on each side. On the summit of the tower is a pyramidal roof with a finial and a weathervane.[1]
The most impressive internal structure is the Norman chancel arch. It consists of two orders of shafts and three orders of voussoirs, and is decorated with carvings of chain links, rosettes in lozenges, and two types of chevrons.[4] The capitals are carved with scallops and foliage.[1] The architectural historians John Newman and Nikolaus Pevsner describe the arch as being "quite incongruously ornate".[4] Also in the church is a west gallery with a balustraded front, and a north gallery with tiered seating. The pulpit, reading desk, and box pews all date from about 1740, and were rearranged in 1838.[4] The stained glass in the church dates from the Victorian and Edwardian eras; some of it was moved from the parish church at Burwarton when it closed.[3] The ring consists of three bells. These were cast in 1410 by John de Colsale, in 1594 by Henry II Oldfield, and in 1664 by Thomas II Clibury.[5]
The church stands in a polygonal churchyard, which has been the burial ground for the people of Stirchley since at least the 13th century. It contains a number of table tombs.[3] Against the south wall of the chancel is a Neoclassical monument to the memory of Thomas Botfield who died in 1801. The consists of an urn on a tall pedestal.[4] The churchyard is on the Heritage at Risk register, the principal vulnerability being vandalism.[6]