St James, Slaithwaite
St James, Slaithwaite
St James's is a Grade II parish church on Church Street in Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, in the Diocese of Leeds: a Classical church of 1796 with a later west tower and porches, built by public subscription to replace an earlier chapel nearer the River Colne.
- Location
- Slaithwaite, Yorkshire
- Country
- England
- County
- Yorkshire
- City / town
- Slaithwaite
- Address
- Bankgate, Slaithwaite, Yorkshire, HD7 5AG
- Postcode
- HD7 5AG
- Built
- 1796; tower and side porches added 1890; entrance dated 1896
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- James
- Diocese
- Leeds
- Parish
- Slaithwaite with East Scammonden
- Grade
- II
- Style
- Classical; later Gothic tower
- Materials
- Ashlar to north and south elevations; hammer-dressed stone to chancel; pitched slate roof
- Grid reference
- SE 078 140
- Opening hours
- Every Wednesday morning 9.30am to 12noon and at other various times or by arrangement.
- Access
- Ramp or level access available on request. Level access to the main areas. Level access throughout. Accessible toilets in church
Overview
Historic England lists the Church of Saint James (list entry 1233461, designated 25 May 1966). The listing records a church of 1796, Classical, with a later chancel; tower and side porches added in 1890. North and south elevations are ashlar; the chancel is hammer-dressed stone with stone quoins, under a pitched slate roof with gable copings. The two-storey, seven-bay nave has single-light stained-glass windows to both floors. A basement doorway on the south side is inscribed "NATIONAL SCHOOL 1824". The west tower is of four reducing tiers, with clock faces, round-arched louvred bell openings, and a parapet with paired crocketed corner pinnacles. The entrance is dated 1896. Inside, a raking gallery runs to three sides on round piers.
Geograph and local histories state that the 1796 church was built by public subscription, replacing a sixteenth-century chapel of ease. The present parish site notes a church on this higher ground from around 1789, after flooding of the earlier building nearer the river, and later Victorian pews and a tiered gallery. An 1859 stained-glass east window is recorded as by David and Charles Evans. The parish is Slaithwaite with East Scammonden.