St James the Greater, Leicester
St James the Greater, Leicester | |
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![]() St James the Greater, Leicester | |
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Coordinates: 52°37′24.7″N 1°06′54.75″W / 52.623528°N 1.1152083°W | |
Location | Leicester |
Country | England |
Denomination | Church of England |
Website | dlibitum.co.uk/sjg |
History | |
Dedication | St James the Greater |
Consecrated | 25 July 1901 |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade II* listed[1] |
Architect(s) | Henry L Goddard |
Groundbreaking | 28 October 1899 |
Completed | 24 September 1914 |
Administration | |
Diocese | Diocese of Leicester |
Archdeaconry | Leicester |
Deanery | City of Leicester |
Parish | St James, Leicester |
St James the Greater, Leicester is a Grade II* listed[1] parish church in the Church of England in Leicester, Leicestershire.[2] It is located south of the city centre of Leicester, on the London Road (A6), opposite Victoria Park.
It has an active congregation and hosts a variety of events, having two church halls. It is one of Leicester ’s best-known churches, situated on the edge of the City, opposite Victoria Park. It had been threatened with closure in the 50’s but the Reverend Lawrence Jackson, a priest with great charisma who was appointed in 1959 exercised a remarkable ministry. The Church began to fill and had one of the largest congregations in the Diocese by the time Lawrence moved to Coventry in 1965.
The building was a copy of Torcello Cathedral on the Venetian lagoon and had been the inspiration of Bishop Mandell Creighton, Bishop of Peterborough.
History
The church was founded as a daughter church of St Peter's Church, Leicester in 1881 and a temporary wooden church was constructed. The current building was erected between 1899 and 1901 to the designs of the architect H L Goddard of Leicester. The foundation stone was laid on 28 October 1899,[3] and it was consecrated on 25 July 1901.[4] The west front was completed between 1911 and 1914 and it was dedicated by the Bishop of Peterborough on 24 September 1914.
It became a parish in its own right on 25 June 1918.
Organ
The pipe organ was built by Stephen Taylor. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[5]
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Church of St James the Greater, London Road (Grade II*) (1361037)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ The Buildings of England. Leicestershire and Rutland. Nikolaus Pevsner. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300096186
- ^ "Church Extension in Leicester. The New Church of St James". Leicester Chronicle. Leicester. 4 November 1899. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ "Church of St James the Greater. Consecration by the Bishop of Peterborough". Leicester Chronicle. Leicester. 27 July 1901. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ "NPOR [R02080]". National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
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- Church of England church buildings in Leicester
- Grade II* listed churches in Leicestershire
- Churches completed in 1914
- 20th-century Church of England church buildings
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