Whitehaven is a small town on the west coast of the Lake District. It was a fishing village that became a coal mining and shipping centre during the Industrial Revolution. The present town was laid out in a rectangular grid pattern in the late 17th century, making it the first post-Renaissance planned town in Britain.
Based on our reading of The Christian Travelers Guide To Great Britain, we arrived in Whitehaven expecting to look into three churches. However, we were disappointed to find only one of the three was as described in the book. That’s not the author’s fault; circumstances had evidently changed since the book was written in 2001, and we visited in 2004.
The first of the three churches we passed was The Methodist Church, Scotch Street. The Guide described it thus: "This grand Victorian neo-Gothic structure testifies to the strength of Cumbrian Methodism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today there is a preservation order on the building, which is considered a classic of its kind." That sounds like the church is open and accessible to the public. However, the building was closed and black paint blotted out the sign at the front. Apparently, the church has closed its doors.
The second disappointment was St Nicholas Church, located in the town centre. We knew from the Guide that the neo-Gothic church built here in 1883, on the site of an older church, had burned down in 1971 and had not been re-built. "Until it was destroyed by fire in 1971, the church was one of the most beautiful in England. All that remains today is the clock tower and a few other ruins. The tower now serves as a resource center with a small museum and chapel." Well, unfortunately, things had changed here, too. The clock tower now houses a café run by some local churches. There is no information on the history of the church, no photos or drawings, no chapel, and the only "resources" available are soup and sandwiches.
Intrepid travelers that we are, we did not give up on the third church. It was a bit of a walk up a hill from the town centre, but it was worth it.
St James Church, dedicated on St James' Day, 25 July 1753, has a sumptuous and beautifully coloured Georgian interior. There are galleries on three sides with Tuscan columns, while the fourth side (at the far end of this photo) has a huge chancel arch.
The painting over the Communion table (or altar, as High-Church Anglicans call it) is The Transfiguration by Guilio Proccacini (1548-1626). (I took this photo with flash, thus the white splotch.)
This work originally hung in the El Escorial Palace outside Madrid, but it was taken by French soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1869, it was purchased by a local benefactor and given to the church. It is believed to be the only painting by this artist in an English church.
The ceiling contains two strikingly attractive stucco roundels. This one portrays the Annunciation; the other the Ascension.
For its beauty and historical and architectural value, this church is deservedly included in Simon Jenkins’s wonderful book England’s Thousand Best Churches.
St James Church has a thriving congregation and celebrated its 250th anniversary a few weeks before our visit.
Links to all my blog posts about British churches and Christian sites can be accessed through the box located at the top of the page.
Posts
