St James's Church, Halifax was situated at south-east corner of the junction of North Parade and St James's Road.
It was designed by Pickersgill & Oates.
It was started by Samuel Knight and completed by Charles Musgrave, who, in 1828, asked Anne Lister to sell a piece of land for the construction of a new church in the Cabbage Lane area of Halifax. Miss Lister agreed to sell a plot at the rate of 6/- a yard on the condition that she had the best pew in the Church and a servants' pew free of expense, and she asked that the Church be named in honour of her uncle, James Lister. Michael Stocks gave stone from his Shibden quarries for the construction.
It was built under the Million Pound Act which provided money to build churches in industrial areas – a grant of £4,196 – in this instance, and other money came from public subscription.
The foundation stone for the new Church was laid on 25th March 1830.
The Church was consecrated on 22nd September 1831, and it opened on 2nd January 1832.
The Church gave its name when Cabbage Lane became St James's Road.
In White's Directory of 1837, he says:
St James's Church is a neat building in the pseudo-Gothic style, with two turrets surmounted by domes at the west end. It was built in 1811, at the cost of £4,122.11s, most of which was defrayed by government, and the rest was raised by subscription, together with £800 for purchasing and enclosing the cemetery, towards which the late W. Rawson Esq. gave £200. It will seat 1,206 hearers and is a curacy in the patronage of the vicar. The Rev James Gratrix, MA is the incumbent and his yearly stipend, £250, is derived from the seat rents. The organ was erected in 1817, at the cost of £400
It would seem that his dates 1811 and 1817 are incorrect and should be 1831 and 1837
The parsonage stood immediately to the east.
In September 1859, the Church re-opened after having been
thoroughly painted and considerably beautified
A new chancel was added with an oriel window by Ward of London.
It accommodated 1,200 worshippers [1890].
In February 1900, the church was closed for cleaning and a temporary Mission Room was established at the Dean Clough Institute.
In April 1952, the building was declared unfit and closed. The congregation amalgamated with St Mary's Church, Rhodes Street.
The Church was demolished in 1955.
The records for the Church are held at the West Yorkshire Archive Service office in Wakefield (Collection WDP170): Baptisms [1832-1952], Banns [1925-1940] and Marriages [1837-1952].
A list of some of the Vicars of Saint James's Church, Halifax is given in a separate Foldout
See William Coates, St James & St Mary Church of England, Halifax, St James's Church, Halifax: War Memorial, St James's Church Sunday School, Halifax, St James's Church, Halifax: Graveyard, Parish of St James, Halifax, St James's Infant School, Halifax and South Knight Street
This & associated entries use material contributed by Alan Longbottom
Page Ref: KK_112
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