St. Mary and St. James, Scorton

Introduction

Saint Mary and Saint James in Scorton, in the Diocese of Lancaster, was built in 1860/1 in an Early Decorated Gothic style. The church was opened in 1861 by Bishop Alexander Goss, Bishop of Liverpool.

History

The architectural firm J A Hansom & Son of Clifton, Bristol, designed the church, with Henry John Hansom as lead architect. W Yates of Preston undertook the masonry and J Turner of Preston the joinery. The church was redecorated to celebrate its centenary in 1961 and redecorated again in 2001. Religious statuary has been introduced inside the church at differing periods during its lifetime. The parish has a Ladies Group.

Architecture and furnishings

The east window contains stained glass by Hardman depicting St James, Our Lady, St Richard and St Elizabeth. The Lady Chapel contains a painted altar that came from Clifton Hall, Forton. The church organ is by Harrison & Harrison and was installed in the organ gallery in 2002. The church is constructed of sandstone beneath pitched slate roofs.

The chancel's east elevation features diagonal buttresses and a stone mullioned window with four lights and geometrical tracery. Small crosses run the full length of the roofline. Memorial tablets on the porch walls are dedicated to past priests buried in the vault beneath the porch. The west gable terminates in stepped copings with a bellcote at the apex.

The interior comprises a chancel, a nave with an organ gallery at its west end, and a north aisle. The high altar is of painted stone with a central nodding ogee arch and panels representing the Resurrection and the Last Supper. Small statues on either side of the altar are thought to be of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, on the left, and St Thomas Becket on the right. A new forward altar stands in front of the high altar.

A two-light stained glass window on the south wall of the nave depicts St Charles and St Robert. The roof above the Lady Chapel is painted blue with depictions of stars.