About St. James the Great

Welcome

The parish church of St. James in Clapton is open and always welcoming, not just to regular members but to the community at large.

Here we have and actively encourage a culture of creativity, shared responsibility and inclusivity. Together we celebrate and enjoy the variety of our diverse community.

We are a faithful church in the Open Catholic tradition; an inclusive church where everyone is welcome. We love our music both in our regular services and in community concerts. We are good at hospitality, welcoming and valuing all people.

Our Values

Embracing Capital Vision 2020 - our collective vision, which emerged from conversations with nearly 2,000 people - we seek to be more confident in speaking the Gospel of Jesus Christ, more compassionate in serving communities with the love of God the Father and more creative in reaching new people and places in the power of the Spirit.

Our Community

The Parish has a BAME majority community with almost half of the population born outside England; more than 89 languages are spoken here.

We seek to encourage as many members of the community as possible to encounter the love of God through Jesus Christ daily.

We share a vision of a Church for London that is Christ-centred and outward looking.

Our congregation truly spans the ages, from newborns to folks in their 80s. You'll find just about every type of person here - married, single, divorced, widowed, professionals, workers, retired, life-long Clapton residents and those who have just recently moved into the area.

But even more important than the kind of people who go here is the kind of people who are welcome here - everyone!

The Commissioning of the Church

This Church, which is commodious and handsome, is the second erected by the Hackney Church Building Committee on a piece of ground formally called the Strawberry Garden, which was a part of the estate of the Rev. T. B. Powell who gave it to the Church Commissioners expressly as a site for this church.

The need for a new church in the parish of St John at Hackney was due to the "population of the said parish having greatly increased, and the present Church and Chapels being inadequate to the accommodation of the inhabitants thereof."

It was an Act for populous parishes that led to the formation of The Hackney Church Building Commission. St James, and St Philip's Dalston were the first churches subsequently built.

The Church Building Commissioners awarded a grant for £912 towards the building cost and the work started on St James day July 25th 1840. By 1841 the church was finished at a total cost of £5,249 and consecrated on the 14th Oct 1841.

Church Design and Features

The church was built to hold 1,100-1,200 people and a third of these sittings were 'free'. This means they were not subject to the traditional pew rent and were therefore available for anyone to use. The overall length (East-West) of the church is stated as being 120 feet.

Designed by the architect E. C. Hakewill the main body of the church was built in a stock brick with stone dressings. The layout of the church was designed as an aisleless nave with five thin lancet windows in splayed stone surrounds, which terminated in a taller bay at the west end.

The small chancel was however found to be too restrictive and in 1902 the architect W. D. Caröe was asked to design a new chancel with improved facilities for the church. This he did in a contrasting polychrome red brick and stone.

In 1978, the conversion of the west end of St James', divided the church into two. Separating the two is a striking concrete block divide which contains gallery seating for the church. The addition of floors and rooms in the previous nave make up the Huddleston Centre. The chancel, transepts and crossing space are now used as the church.

Our Leadership