Still in Oxfordshire the church Explorer visits St James Bourton this church was not far away from Shrivenham and TBH I did not know it was in Oxfordshire till I looked at the map and noticed it was about 1Km from the county boundary. My first look at the church told me it was Victorian so I was not expecting any thing out of the ordinary with it.
"The Church of England parish church of St James was designed by J.W. Hugall and is another Gothic Revival building. Page and Ditchfield state that it was built in 1881, but Nikolaus Pevsner states that it was built in 1860. St James' parish is now part of the Church of England Benefice of Shrivenham and Ashbury, which also includes Compton Beauchamp, Fernham, Longcot and Watchfield. Low attendance and a parish deficit of £6,000 per year led the Diocese of Oxford to serve notice at the end of 2003 to make St. James' redundant. Increased attendance and a £2,000 increase in parish income from January 2004 onwards led the Diocese to rescind the notice by June of that year."
Looking from the other side of the road
West end
Looking up at the bell
Looking west from along the churchyard
Same direction only towards the south a little
Looking south east
Empty space is where I think the churchyard extension runs
Looking back west
Over by the wall bounding the road a famly plot
With a list of those interned on the cross
Porch was open so I went inside
Down the nave aisle, it was quite light inside
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Closer to the chancel
And a view of the chancel
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Wide view of the chancel
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Altar and east window
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The nativity scene painted on the panel
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View back east from the chancel
Pulpit
Nave view from the pulpit
Looking around at the chancel
Roll of service for World War Two, the men who did not return are marked with a cross
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The roll of service for World War One is top right, I have not come across the other two rolls before
Font and cover opposite the entrance to the church
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Not really any stained glass as such but the windows are nice non the less
Electric organ and harmonium
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And the main organ in the chancel
I will leave you with this photo
Till next time have a peaceful weekend
Another great one!!
ReplyDeleteThanks it was
DeleteVery distinctive.
ReplyDeleteMore than I thought it would be
DeleteThere's a lot to see in the churchyard and inside the church. The screen behind the altar has fine scenes when you look closely. The crocheted poppy wreath hanging on the memorial Roll of Honour is touching. Have a good Sunday and week ahead Bill.
ReplyDeleteCertainly more than I expected for a church of this size. I have a crocheted poppy and have seen many but never a wreath like that. Very nice
DeleteInteresting church again and how lovely to find one full of light!! I was fed up the other day trying to get photos in a really dark church!!! The altar panel is different. There is a lot to see outside too.
ReplyDeleteThe darkness can be a problem if there are no lights, my iphone can cope with most churches and my camera I just change the settings on manual to let in more light but if I am doing that I need a tripod to get the photos. Lucky most churches seem to have reasonable light
DeleteI love the screen painting on the alter and the organ is really impressive. It does seem unusual not to have stained glass windows but I agree, they are still pretty.
ReplyDeleteI have come across a few churches with no stained glass but there are more with stained glass I am glad to say
DeleteCompared to many of the churches that you photograph, this this one is pretty new. It looks nice.
ReplyDeleteYes I admit it is though believe it or not I've been to a few twentieth century churches as well
DeleteWhat a beautiful, beautiful church!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/08/classics.html
Yes it was rather nice, some like this are plain boring
DeleteThese are beautiful! And what a fun place to photograph.
ReplyDeleteNever though of them as fun but they are interesting to take photos of
DeleteYour photos really show the structure and inside nicely.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteBilly - love the timbered roof and the nativity scene. Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday!
ReplyDeleteYes that was quite a nice thing to find
DeleteThe locals obviously really took 'use it or lose it' on board. I thought this was going to be in Gloucestershire, but it's obviously a different Bourton! It looks the light is very good in there.
ReplyDeleteNo it surprised me to find it was in Oxfordshire, I thought it was in Wiltshire
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