Church Of St James The Great, Haydock

The Church of St James the Great is in Church Road, Haydock, a former mining community, now part of the Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside, in the North-west of England (postcode WA11 0NJ). It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool, the Archdeaconry of St. Helens and Warrington and the Deanery of Winwick. HistoryHaydock National School was opened on this site in 1837, Church services being conducted in the main classroom by clergy from Ashton. (It now forms a meeting room connecting the Church to the adjacent Vicarage). By 1861 the rising population of Haydock made this provision inadequate. It was hoped to build a large parish church in the centre of the community, but to solve the immediate problem it was decided to build a chapel attached to the School, and connected to it by large double doors. This chapel, the original church, was designed by W. and J. Hay and built by George Harris of St. Helens. It was consecrated on 11 December 1866. At the laying of the foundation stone the dedication was stated to be to St. Alban, but at the consecration of the building as the Parish Church of the newly founded Parish the dedication was made to St. James the Great. By 1888 this had become too small for the growing population. Rather than building a new church on another site it was decided to build onto the existing chapel and in 1889 plans were approved for a substantial extension. The foundation stone for this was laid on 5 October 1889 and the newly extended church was opened on 25 July 1891, although it was not consecrated until June 1892. The original church became the Lady chapel of the enlarged church. The extension was designed by Douglas and Fordham. In 1929–31 due to structural problems, the chancel, sanctuary and west wall were rebuilt and the spire was removed. Between 1988 and 1990 the church was reordered, providing a spacious chancel area and a new chapel, The chapel is dedicated to St. Alban,

The Church of St James the Great is in Church Road, Haydock, a former mining community, now part of the Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside, in the North-west of England (postcode WA11 0NJ). It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool, the Archdeaconry of St. Helens and Warrington and the Deanery of Winwick. HistoryHaydock National School was opened on this site in 1837, Church services being conducted in the main classroom by clergy from Ashton. (It now forms a meeting room connecting the Church to the adjacent Vicarage). By 1861 the rising population of Haydock made this provision inadequate. It was hoped to build a large parish church in the centre of the community, but to solve the immediate problem it was decided to build a chapel attached to the School, and connected to it by large double doors. This chapel, the original church, was designed by W. and J. Hay and built by George Harris of St. Helens. It was consecrated on 11 December 1866. At the laying of the foundation stone the dedication was stated to be to St. Alban, but at the consecration of the building as the Parish Church of the newly founded Parish the dedication was made to St. James the Great. By 1888 this had become too small for the growing population. Rather than building a new church on another site it was decided to build onto the existing chapel and in 1889 plans were approved for a substantial extension. The foundation stone for this was laid on 5 October 1889 and the newly extended church was opened on 25 July 1891, although it was not consecrated until June 1892. The original church became the Lady chapel of the enlarged church. The extension was designed by Douglas and Fordham. In 1929–31 due to structural problems, the chancel, sanctuary and west wall were rebuilt and the spire was removed. Between 1988 and 1990 the church was reordered, providing a spacious chancel area and a new chapel, The chapel is dedicated to St. Alban,