Pipe Ridware: St James
Overview
Grid reference: SK 96 177
The church occupies an ancient site but the present building is all Victorian. The nave was rebuilt at the beginning of the reign in 1840 by James Trubshaw, the chancel by John Oldrid Scott at the end of it in 1899.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave of three bays with west bell-cote ; chancel with south vestry
Description of Archaeology and History
The church occupies an ancient site but the present building is all Victorian. The nave was rebuilt at the beginning of the reign in 1840 by James Trubshaw, the chancel by John Oldrid Scott at the end of it in 1899. The builders were J. Ward and Son of Uttoxeter and the cost was £1,093. James Trubshaw (1777-1853) belonged to the third generation of the four-generation dynasty of architects of this name. His training under Richard Westmacott (father of Sir Richard) included working at Fonthill, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and after an initially shaky attempt to set up business on his own he prospered more by taking over the family business on his father's death in 1808. He always regarded himself primarily as a builder rather than an architect, and worked for Barry (on Trentham), John Shaw and Blore. His most celebrated achievement as a builder was the erection of the 200- foot span of Grosvenor Bridge at Chester to the designs of Thomas Harrison in 1828-33. He also succeeded in returning the tower of Wybunbury Church to the perpendicular from which it had declined more than five feet, a problem which has once more asserted itself. He was a man of exceptional stature and strength. He died on 28 October 1853. John Oldrid Scott was the eldest son of Sir Gilbert Scott and trained with his father. He was responsible for many churches and church restorations.
Exterior Description
The old church at Pipe Ridware consisted of a rectangular nave occupying the site of the present nave with a west lancet window, a south porch and a weather-boarded bell-turret over the west end. The chancel had been rebuilt before Trubshaw, probably early in the nineteenth century, and he did not find it neccesary to rebuild it. The present nave consists of three bays, each provided with a big lancet in the north and south walls, but a Neo-Norman west wall with a round-headed doorway with big heads carved at the hood-stops, a two-light window above with round-headed lights within a round arch and a repetition of the same arrangement on a smaller scale set on the apex of the gable to form a delightfully unarchaeological neo-Norman bell-cote. There are shallow buttresses clasping the western angles. The nave was rebuilt, according to the Faculty preserved in the vestry chest, to obtain more sittings - the parish obtained ninety-seven after the rebuilding compared with sixty-seven before it.
The chancel which survived for fifty years with Trubshaw's nave was quite small and very low, with a low-pitched roof and three lancets in the east wall. In 1899 it was rebuilt on the old foundations to designs by John Oldrid Scott. The east window was raised and ornamented with stone mouldings and the pitch of the roof was made rather steeper. There are lancets in the north and south walls of the sanctuary and another in the north wall further west. On the south side is a vestry under a cross gabled roof with two lancets and a quatrefoil in plate tracery within a moulded hood in the south wall and a doorway in the west wall. The single light east window was re-used from the earlier building. The chancel has low buttresses with steeply sloped shoulders. It is more "correct" than Trubshaw's nave, and rather too long in proportion to it, but on the whole the two interpretations of the lancet style go quite well together.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
c.1875
The east window is of three lights with a panel showing The Crucifixion and a small head of St. James in the centre light and geometric patterns otherwise; by Burlison and Grylls.
Stained Glass
The north and south chancel windows have fragments of old glass
Stained Glass
1840
The nave windows have borders of bright colours, yellow and mauve.
Interior
Interior Description
As Trubshaw left it, the interior had a ceiling divided into panels by moulded ribs with gothic cusping in spandrels against the walls, a triple arch with plain chamfers opening into the chancel and a pair of reading desks approached through the subsidiary arches. The box pews left a wide alley at the west which narrowed further east and the font was set within a christening pew at the north-west corner. Scott proposed to renew the seating and the pulpit, as well as the door to the nave, but in fact the seating was not carried out until later and the pulpit seems to be made up of parts of Trubshaw's pair of desks. The major change was that Scott provided a grand triple arch in the Early English style with grey Irish limestone shafts, nailhead mouldings and carved foliate stops in place of the three chamfered arches which had previously divided the nave from the chancel. These echo in shape and materials, if not exactly in form, the triple lancet east window. Within the chancel, which is one step above the level of the nave, an arch opens on the south into the vestry and there is a credence recess under a trefoiled arch in the south-east corner, but otherwise there are few architectural features. The roof is boarded and there are two monuments saved from the old chancel on the wall. The window made by Burlison and Grylls was also re-used. The nave is paved with square grey and white flags in the alley; the chancel floor is of wood blocks. The vestry has a pretty corner fireplace with an iron grate framed by an ogee arch with rosettes in the spandrels.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
The altar is of oak.
Reredos
The reredos has five panels decorated with a repeating pattern in gilded gesso, the middle one with the sacred monogram IHS in a crowned shield and the others with embossed tin panels representing the symbols of the evangelists which probably cover similar shields. The five panels appear to have been re-used from somewhere else.
Pulpit
The pulpit is simply an arrangement of panelling across the south east corner of the nave. It may have been made up by Scott from parts of Trubshaw's two pulpits.
Lectern
The lectern is an oak pedestal.
Font (object)
The font is much the oldest furnishing in the church, a massive circular bowl of Norman date with a tier of interlacing circles composed of dots within two lines and a pair of wavy bands loosely intersecting all round the upper part. The base dates from 1899.
Churchyard
Grid reference: SK 96 177
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
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