The Parish Church of St James
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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
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The Tower and Spire
Outside the Church
The most striking and characteristic external features of the church are its tower and spire at the west end of the church.

The Church Tower, well-proportioned and made of mellow stock bricks with stone dressings, reminds us of the times when the church (not St. James's) was used as a post of defence against enemies, being square, solid and strongly built.

The tower carries the four clock faces and the clock and bells are housed in the bell tower. The actual place where the bells are hung is called the belfry. The windows in the tower do not have glass, but openings or louvres in the stonework so that the sound of the bells can travel.

Stone spiral steps lead from the baptistry up to the belfry, then a wooden staircase leads up to a viewing platform in the spire and finally, a ladder leads up to a landing further up in the spire.

Tower and Spire

Side of the tower
The clock, with four dials, is a simple pendulum wall clock and was made in 1893 by J. Smith & Sons of Derby, the builders of the great clock of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. (Notice the louvre windows to let out the sound of the bells)
One of the clock faces

The Spire
The Spire, with a cross at the top, is a gracefully tapering structure which rises above the tower in the form of a tall cone or pyramid. It is entirely made of Portland stone and rises to 157 feet (approx. 48m).

Many people think it looks like a finger pointing upwards to heaven, reflecting the mystery and wonder of God. The celestial and hopeful gesture of the spire is one reason for its association with religious buildings.

It is a familiar and prominent local landmark.
The tower

Gargoyles on the tower
A gargoyle is the projecting carved stone waterspout rather like an ugly-looking head. It was often used in church architecture and Its purpose is to throw out the rainwater from the gutter of the church roof, and so to get it clear of the walls of the building itself. The carvings have open mouths out of which the water drains.

There are four different gargoyles on the bell tower, one on each corner:

A gargoyle
A gargoyle
A gargoyle
     
A gargoyle
A gargoyle
A gargoyle

Further Information
Contacts
Contact the Parish Office 020 8941 6003
Associated pages on this website Associated pages on this website:
Bell Tower
Through the Years:
The Proposed Tower and Spire (1885 March .....) | Fancy Fair for Tower and Spire (1891 June) | Clock and Bells (1891 October) | Clock and Bells (1893 January) | Clock and Bells (1894 January) | Pigeons in the Tower (1956 May) | The Tower (1960 March) | Our Clock (1970 October) | The Spire (1970 December) | The Spire: a Symbol? (1989 February) | The Renovation of the Church Spire (990 May)

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