Croydon: St James
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 326 664
The church was designed by Robert Wallace, (c.1790-1874), an architect of Scottish extraction who lived and worked in London. The foundation stone at Croydon was laid on 16 May 1827 and the church was opened by 1829; it was consecrated on 30 January 1829 by William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury. Wallace's design was exhibited at the Royal Academy. A Faculty was obtained for building a new chancel in 1873, but this was not carried out until 1881; it was designed by Charles Henman (1855-1910), a local architect who had recently been married in the church. The south vestry was added in 1894, probably also to designs by Henman.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Rectangular nave without aisles externally embracing the thin west tower; chancel with north vestry and organ chamber and south vestry room.
Description of Archaeology and History
The church was designed by Robert Wallace, (c.1790-1874), an architect of Scottish extraction who lived and worked in London. He was a pupil of J.H. Good and his most important work seems to have been the Athenaeum and associated buildings at Derby. He did little church work, although he was responsible for alterations to the Scottish Presbyterian churches in London at Regent Square and Crown Court, in addition to the restoration of the transepts of St. Saviour, Southwark (now the Cathedral) in 1829-30. The foundation stone at Croydon was laid on 16 May 1827 and the church was opened by 1829; it was consecrated on 30 January 1829 by William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury. Wallace's design was exhibited at the Royal Academy.
A Faculty was obtained for building a new chancel in 1873, but this was not carried out until 1881; it was designed by Charles Henman (1855-1910), a local architect who had recently been married in the church. The south vestry was added in 1894, probably also to designs by Henman.
Exterior Description
The body of the nave is a rectangle constructed of brick, of seven bays externally (although the western bay conceals stairs to galleries within) each pierced by a tall and wide lancet window. A straight parapet caps the walls and there is also a stringcourse at the level of the window sills. Between these two on the south wall the surface has been rendered, but the brickwork remains exposed on the north. There were formerly pinnacles at the east and west corners where small buttresses rise now only as far as the parapet.
The west and is slightly more elaborate, and has more stone dressings (on the plinth for example) to attract attention to architectural features. As well as the buttresses at the corners, there are further buttresses near the centre, and the tower rises between these, with a shallow recess at each side which was doubtless intended to give it prominence. In the bays at each side are very tall blind windows with quatrefoils as tracery. The tower has a doorway at the foot with a moulded arch and two orders of nook-shafts, the whole being framed by a steeply pitched moulded gablet terminating in exceptionally large heads, one of a bishop and one of a king. The next stage has a tall two-light window with a quatrefoil at the head like those in the outer bays and then the emaciated tower rises above the roofline in two further storeys. The lower of these houses the clock and has small lights with sharply pointed gablets above in each wall. Wallace seems to have thought that corbels were intended as window sills, for all the tower windows have them as though provided for statues which never appeared. The western opening is elaborated by an outer gablet similar to that above the west doorway. The topmost stage, which houses the single bell, has triple lancets in each face, the central one taller and wider than the flanking pair, and again these have pedestals below the sills. The parapet which is now straight was formerly stopped and once also had pinnacles. Possibly its plainness now exaggerates the peculiar triple lancets unduly. At various points of the tower and the west front are carved heads, both grotesque and human, which ought to decorate the building but instead, being placed with little regard for architectural precedence, they simply seem quirky.
The chancel is in a very different style, but one which is not really successful as an addition to such a plain predecessor. It is a somewhat heavy-handed Decorated Gothic, with geometrical tracery (especially in the big five-light east window with sexfoil above) and single lancets north and south with trefoiled heads which light the sanctuary. A plinth runs round the bases of the walls and a stringcourse below the window sills. On the south side is a small chapel under a pont roof and a vestry room in similar style was later added to the south of this. The vestry is on the north, with six quatrofoils within circles pierced in the east wall and then the cross-gable of the organ-chamber further west, the two linked externally by a small polygonal turret. The vestry has a doorway in the east wall and a stair leads down to the boiler house below.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
c.1881
The east window is of five lights, with Christ and the Twelve Disciples across the upper parts of the main lights and five Scenes from the Life of St. James in the lower parts; Christ appears in the tracery surrounded by seraphim. The window was designed by Charles Henman and made by H.W. Lonsdale.
Stained Glass
c.1880
The south chancel window is a single light depicting The Crucifixion.
Stained Glass
c.1881
In the south chapel are four lights (two in the east window and two separately in the south wall) depicting St. Matthias, St. Paul, St. John the Baptist, and St. Paul.
Interior
Interior Description
The nave is a preaching house typical of its period. When it was built it had a shallow sanctuary at the east on with a pulpit on a tall base at one side and a reading desk at the other. Galleries ran round three sides, with an organ placed in the western part and the north and south arms abutting against the east wall. The pillars were square, of wood, and the ground floor was furnished with box pews like those which still remain in the gallery and a panelled dado still survives on the nave walls. The whole structure was roofed with moulded tie-beams slightly cambered and a moulded ridge, the roof thus being divided into rectangular plaster panels. Access to the galleries was provided at the west end by stone staircases with elegant, though simple, cast iron balustrados in the gothic taste. Both lobbies have pointed ribbed vaults of plaster and above the south staircase is a further narrow stone stair of similar design leading to the access to the tower. The doors in the western part of the building, which are all original, have simple gothic panelling and are grained to resemble oak.
The gallery pillars are also covered with stencilled decoration, as are the gallery fronts, with fleurs-de-lys in quatrefoils and a plaster cresting along the lower edge of the panels (although this might possibly be contemporary with the galleries themselves). On the brackets under the galleries are attractive runs of gothic cusping and heads moulded in plaster, obviously of 1829 and giving a touch of the Strawberry Hill type of Gothick. The small stone corbels in the shape of colonettes resting on carved heads and with stiff leaf capitals which support the roof beams, however, seem to be remodellings of 1881. The nave alleys are paved in stone and the pews stand on timber platforms. The two eastern bays of the gallery on each side were also taken down in 1881.
The chancel arch is tall and wide, with groups of three shafts against each respond and a moulded arch with two orders outlined by a moulded hood. To north and south are two smaller arches, the former communicating with the organ chamber and the latter with a small chapel in the position of a chancel aisle. Both those areas also open into the chancel through large arches, the organ with only one but the chapel with two arches supported centrally by a quatrefoil pier. The chapel has a two-light window with a trefoil above in the east wall and two single lights in the south wall which are now obscured by the later room added to the south. The roof is a boarded pine pent roof.
The chancel arch is further elaborated by a low stone screen with pierced trefoiled arches and capping of polished alabaster. The reredos against the east wall is of marble and the east window above it is brightly coloured. On the north a small doorway communicates with the vestry, and the roof is boarded in pine. The floor is laid with tiles in red and buff.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
c.1881
The altar is a pine table.
Reredos
1884
The reredos was carved in 1884 in Derbyshire marble by Thomas Earp of Lambeth to designs by Charles Henman, the architect of the chancel. The three sections are divided by slender shafts and pinnacles and each is surmounted by crocketted gablets with spandrels between filled with carved tracery. The central three gablets surmount one scone, a carving in high relief of The Last Supper with Faith, Hope and Charity above bearing the emblems of their virtues.
Pulpit
1882
The pulpit was presented in 1882 and consists of an oak hexagonal body with traceried panels of refined workmanship on a traceried stone base.
Lectern
1884
The lectern is a brass eagle of large dimensions and excellent mediaevalistic feeling. It is said to be a copy of that at Southwell Minster.
Font (object)
Late 18th Century
White marble with a baluster stem and a small fluted bowl, the stem supported on a square step of grey marble. The bowl also has florets and a twisted ribbon carved round the edge and the stem has a rope moulding at the narrowest part. It was given by the parish church of Croydon.
Organ (object)
1916
The organ was built by Noterman in 1916; it has three manuals and forty-two speaking stops.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 326 664
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 | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
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
Sources
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