Our Lady and St James, Worsbrough

Introduction

Our Lady and St James in Worsbrough, in the Diocese of Hallam, was built in 1902 by T. H. and F. Healey of Bradford, with S. J. Cooper as patron.

History

The name of Our Lady & St James was chosen to combine the old Anglican and new Catholic titles. The building was damaged by a fire in the sacristy in 2008 but was subsequently repaired and the interior redecorated. The church was originally built as the Anglican Mission Church of St James in 1902, to the designs of T.H. & F. Healey of Bradford, with plans approved on 12 March 1900. The church was built and presented to the parish by Mr. S.J. Cooper of Mount Vernon.

The church fell into disuse in the 1960s and lay empty for several years, becoming derelict due to mining subsidence and vandalism. In August 1975 the building was registered as a Catholic Church in London and Rome.

Architecture and furnishings

The church has a thinly-coursed sandstone, graduated Westmorland slate roof, a 3-bay nave with south porch, a narrower chancel with a south tower in the angle with the nave, and an adjoining vestry on the east. The interior is a simple Gothic-Revival styled interior with wall paintings over the chancel arch, a nave roof with three arch-braced trusses carried on moulded stone corbels, and a terrazzo floor in the circulation area.

The church has a marble font and wall paintings above the chancel arch. The tower has a short lead-covered spire with corner spirelets and a turret at the north-east corner. The east window has 3 cusped lights divided by shafts, with the outer lights blind. The gabled south vestry has an ashlar panel with a 3-light mullioned window, the central light taller, transomed and cusped.

The tower has a south priest's door, quoined slit windows beneath an offset ashlar belfry stage with semi-octagonal corner piers and flanking 2-light trefoiled openings, and a continuous hoodmould. The nave porch to bay 1 has a double-chamfered arch with floral-stopped hoodmould and gable copings with a cross. The west window has a buttress between 2 sets of 3 lancets with hoodmoulds, and a vesica. The chancel windows are of 2 and 1 lights, with a corbel table to the ashlar-coped parapet.

The east and west gable copings have crosses. The church has a string course on the right beneath windows of 3, 2 and 1 lights, with a buttress between the first two. A new granite altar designed by church members was installed in the chancel during restoration.

Visiting

The parish runs a baptismal preparation programme held at Our Lady & Saint James church, Worsbrough. Archived photographs of the Dedication of Our Lady & St James can be viewed on the church's website.