page_title: St James's Church, Clerkenwell
section_title: New Church of St James: 1792–present
hierarchical_section_title: St James's Church, Clerkenwell / History / New Church of St James: 1792–present
caption_attribution_description: English: Frontispiece of the European Magazine, vol 36, 1st August 1799, featuring St James's Church, Clerkenwell.
context_page_description: St James Church, Clerkenwell, is an Anglican parish church in Clerkenwell, London, England.
context_section_description: By 1788 the old church, which was a medley of seventeenth and eighteenth century sections in various styles grafted onto the remains of the mediaeval nunnery church, presented an appearance of picturesque and dilapidated muddle. In that year an act of parliament was passed for the rebuilding of the church, the money to be provided by the sale of annuities. The architect was a local man, James Carr, and he produced a building which is pre-eminently a preaching-house but with carefully planned and harmonious detail clearly influenced by Wren and Gibbs. The new church was dedicated by Bishop Beilby Porteus in 1792. The upper galleries were added in 1822 for the children of the Sunday-School, founded in 1807 and still flourishing; the back parts of the upper galleries were for the use of the poor. The tower and spire were restored in 1849 by W. P. Griffith, and Sir Arthur Blomfield restored the church and rearranged the ground floor in 1882; both works were done very well.  Inside, a noteworthy feature is the curved acoustic wall at the west end. The wall at the east end originally had painted panels in the Venetian window frame; the stained glass in the east windows is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, 1863.
  The organ was built in 1792 by George Pike England to replace the one by Richard Bridge, which he took in part exchange. The new organ had three manuals, toe pedals and a Spanish mahogany case. This, together with much of England's pipe work, still survives. The rococo detail is noteworthy, especially the carved drapery over the pipes. The organ was rebuilt by Noel Mander of Mander Organs in 1978, returning to the original style after some drastic alterations made in 1928. It now has 2 manuals and pedals and 22 speaking stops.
  There is a fine peal of eight bells in the tower, dating from 1791, though all the bells were recast in 1928.
  The most noteworthy vicar of the nineteenth century was the Rev. Robert Maguire, a prolific writer of Protestant pamphlets, who had enjoyed a peculiarly stormy and exciting election. He was responsible for much work on the fabric of the church and some rearrangement of the interior.
  The crypt was used for burials, but early in the twentieth century 300 coffins were moved and stored under the main West entrance. The crypt was then excavated and equipped to form a large hall. The new hall was opened by the Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein in 1912. It was later remodelled and opened by the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of Stepney, on 18 June 1994. The latest work created a dedicated youth space in part of the crypt and was opened by Rt Rev John Sentamu, Bishop of Stepney, on 19 December 1999.
  During the 20th century, the parish of St John, which had been carved out of St James's in 1721, was reunited with it, as was the parish of St Peter. The latter had been established in 1869 for the Smithfield Martyrs Memorial Church of that name; the present church contains a memorial to the Martyrs as a commemoration of St Peter's, which suffered heavy war damage in 1941 and was finally demolished in 1955. The parish church of St John was a remnant of the priory of St John, which is now the headquarters of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, and the church became the chapel of the Order.
  A print of the church, based on a drawing by Samuel Rawle, featured as the frontispiece of The European Magazine, volume 36, published 1 August 1799.
caption: Frontispiece of The European Magazine, vol. 36, 1 August 1799
exif: {}