St James' Church, Ince
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox church
| denomination = Anglican
| name = St James' Church, Ince
| fullname = St James the Great, Ince
| image = St James the Great Ince 2014.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = St James' Church, Ince, from the southwest
| pushpin map = Cheshire
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| pushpin mapsize = 250
| map caption = Location in Cheshire
| coordinates = {{coord|53.2813|-2.8266|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}
| country = England
| osgraw = SJ 450 764
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| website = [http://www.thornton-le-moors-ince-elton.org Parish website]
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| status = Parish church
| functional status = Active
| heritage designation = Grade II*
| designated date = 26 September 1963
| architect = Simon Ripley
Edward Hodkinson
| architectural type = Church
| style = Gothic, Gothic Revival
| groundbreaking =
| completed date = 1854
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| length = 101 feet
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| width nave = Nave and aisle - 45 feet
| height = Tower - 51 feet
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| materials = Red sandstone
Grey slate roofs
| parish = Thornton-le-Moors with Ince and Elton
| deanery = Frodsham
| archdeaconry = Chester
| diocese = Chester
| province = York
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| vicar = Revd John Hellewell
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| asstpriest = Revd Jen Pilling
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St James' Church is in the village of Ince, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.{{NHLE |num= 1138815|desc= Church of St James, Ellesmere Port|access-date= 4 August 2012|mode=cs2}} It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Frodsham. Its benefice is united with that of St Mary, Thornton-le-Moors.{{Citation | url = http://www.achurchnearyou.com/stjamesthegreat/| title = St. James the Great, Ince| access-date = 10 January 2011| publisher = Church of England}}
History
A Norman chapel once stood on this site. The present church was built in the medieval period but only the tower and part of the chancel remain from this date.{{citation | last =Richards | first =Raymond | title =Old Cheshire Churches | publisher =Batsford | year =1947 | location =London | pages =190–194 | oclc =719918}} The chancel is in 14th-century Decorated style and possesses a three-light Decorated window in its east wall.{{citation | last =Morant | first =Roland W. | title =Cheshire Churches | publisher =Countyvise | year =1989 | location =Birkenhead | page =143 | isbn =0-907768-18-0 }} The chancel has a 17th-century oak arch-braced collar roof. The Perpendicular tower by Simon Ripley dates from around 1485–93. The chancel roof, though restored, dates from 1671. The nave, aisle and porch were rebuilt in 1854 in Perpendicular style by Edward Hodkinson, and the tower was raised by two courses.
Architecture
=Exterior=
The church is built in red sandstone with a grey slate roof. Its plan consists of a west tower, a five-bay nave with a north aisle, and a chancel with a lower roof.{{citation | last =Salter | first =Mark | title =The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire | publisher =Folly Publications | year =1995 | location =Malvern | pages =42–43 | isbn =1-871731-23-2 }}
=Interior=
File:St James, Ince interior 2014.jpg
The deeply carved altar table is Jacobean, and the altar rails date from the late 17th century. Also in the chancel is a sanctuary chair of 1634 and a two-tier candelabrum dated 1724. The royal coat of arms of Queen Anne are in the nave. The communion rail with twisted balusters dates from the late 17th century. In the chancel are two stained glass windows by Kempe.
{{Citation | last = Hartwell | first = Clare |last2 = Hyde | first2 = Matthew |last3 = Hubbard | first3 = Edward | author3-link=Edward Hubbard (architectural historian) | last4 =Pevsner | first4 =Nikolaus | author4-link =Nikolaus Pevsner | series= The Buildings of England| title = Cheshire | publisher =Yale University Press| year =2011| orig-year=1971| location =New Haven and London| page = 414| isbn =978-0-300-17043-6 }} There is a ring of three bells, two of which are dated 1622 and 1636. The parish registers begin in 1687 and the churchwardens' accounts in 1749.
File:Altar St James Ince 2014.jpg|Altar
File:Nativity Chair, St James Ince.jpg|Sanctuary chair
External features
The sandstone 19th-century churchyard wall is a Grade II listed building.{{NHLE |num= 1138813|desc= Churchyard wall at St James' Church, Ellesmere Port|access-date= 4 August 2012|mode=cs2|fewer-links=x}} In the churchyard, north west of the tower, is the war grave of a Royal Navy sailor of World War II.{{Citation | url = http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2735771/CROWDER,%20JACK| title = CROWDER, JACK| access-date = 3 February 2013| publisher = Commonwealth War Graves Commission}}
See also
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Church of St James the Great, Ince}}
- [http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/ince.html Photographs by Craig Thornber]
{{Churches in Cheshire}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ince, St James' Church}}
Category:Church of England church buildings in Cheshire
Category:Grade II* listed churches in Cheshire
Category:English Gothic architecture in Cheshire