| The Parish Church of St James | |
| St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003) | |
| THE CHURCH BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS | |
| Section Contents: Introduction
| Building Projects | Images
of St. James's | Inside the Church | Symbols
in the Church | The
Church Hall | The Church
& Grounds Through the Years | The Churchyard
| The Tower and Spire | The
Vicarage |
|
| Inside
the Church Contents: | Inside the Church |
Baptistry
| Bell Tower | Chancel
| Nave | North & South
Aisles | Organ | Sanctuary
| South Porch | Vestry
| West Porch |
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The
chancel is the eastern part of the church where the choir (when
they are singing) and clergy sit. It is separated from the nave by steps, a rail and the arch which has written on it: 'O COME, LET US WORSHIP AND FALL DOWN AND KNEEL BEFORE THE LORD OUR MAKER'. The choir stalls, sanctuary or bishop's chairs, litany desks and the organ are in the chancel. See our Organ page. |
| Sanctuary or Bishop's Chairs
and Litany Desks |
| The sanctuary or bishop's chairs are special chairs which now stand at the entrance to the chancel. They were originally in the sanctuary but were moved to be near the portable altar when this started to be used at the entrance to the chancel for Parish Communion services. They are made of wood and there are IHS carvings on the backs of the bishop’s chairs. IHS or IHC are the first three letters of the Greek for Jesus (IHCOYC) (see below). The litany desks are prayer desks for the clergy. They are also made of carved wood. |
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| IHS carving on the back of a bishop's chair | A bishop's chair
and litany desk |
IHS
carving on the back of a bishop's chair |
| The Choir Stalls |
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Choir stalls are
the fixed seats in the chancel where the choir and clergy can sit.
They are made of wood and the stall ends are beautifully carved, as shown in the pictures below. |
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Choir stall ends |
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| Chancel Corbels |
A corbel is a stone bracket
projecting from a wall or corner to support a beam or simply for decoration.
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| Corbel
(Virgin Mary) north side of the chancel |
Corbels in the chancel
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Corbel
(St. James) south side of the chancel |
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| Other Features in the Chancel |
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A and O (Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet) have been cleverly included in the design of the chancel roof timbers. |
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| Floor tiles in the chancel
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| The Chancel Stained Glass
Window |
| Stained glass has been used to add beauty and colour to our church. Most of our windows show biblical scenes, and these helped to teach the people about religion in the days when most of them could not read. The separate pieces of glass each have their own colour and are set into strips of lead. The colours in early stained glass were each thought to have a meaning; for instance, red meant divine love, white - divine wisdom, yellow - faith, and so on. |
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| Further Information |
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| Contact
the Parish
Office 020 8941 6003 |
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| Associated pages on this website: Organ |
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