Church of St James, Didsbury

St James, Didsbury

The Church of St James, Stenner Lane, Didsbury, Manchester is an ancient Anglican church of medieval origins with significant subsequent alterations in the 17th and mid-19th centuries.^[1] The church was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952.^[2]

The original chapel is believed to have been a 13th-century oratory. Rebuilding took place in the early seventeenth century, including the "dumpy" tower.^[1] The pinnacles and loops which surmount the tower are a particular feature, dating from 1801.^[1] The Mosley family, local magnates, were the benefactors. It became the parish church of Didsbury in 1850.^[1] The nave was constructed in 1855, the chancel in 1871 and the east half of the south aisle in 1895.^[2] The church is of red sandstone with slate roofs.

Pevsner found the interior "odd, [with] early seventeenth century fabric, but later additions and alterations [have] changed its character".^[1] The 18th-centuries galleries, themselves a later addition, have been removed and substantial reconstruction took place both in the 1850s and 1890s.^[1] The stained glass is all 19th century.^[1] The church contains some impressive funerary monuments, particularly of the Mosley family. A "good early C17 wall monument in Renaissance style, [...] a 3-bay Ionic colonnade surmounted by a central Corinthian architrave with cresting, with kneeling figures in each part" commemorates Ralph Mosley, who died in 1616.^[2] Sir Nicholas Mosley, the builder of Hough End Hall, is shown kneeling, "dressed in the robes of the Lord Mayor of London (1599)".^[1] The Mosley heiress, Ann, Lady Bland, the founder of St Ann's Church, Manchester, is also represented.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Hartwell et al. 2004, p 440-2
2. ^ ^{a b c} http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-457754-church-of-st-james-manchester

References

• Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2004), Lancashire: Manchester and the South East, The Buildings of England, New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10583-5 

Coordinates: 53°24′36″N 2°13′54″W / 53.4100°N 2.2318°W / 53.4100; -2.2318