The Parish Church of St James
St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003)
The Parish Church of St James

THE CHURCH BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
Church Building | Inside the Church | Outside the Church | Stained Glass Windows | Symbols in the Church | The Church Hall | The Churchyard | The Churchyard Graves | The Tower and Spire | The Vicarage



The West Porch

The West Porch

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The Parish Office

The west porch gives a view from the road through the whole length of the church right down to the altar. The sanctuary with the altar are lit up at certain times of the day and night. Looking into the church in this way shows our openness to the world and our desire to share God’s love. The use of glass for the roof and doors of the west porch create a light and welcoming space.

The Parish Office
The porch also gives a place for the administrative work of the parish to be done as the parish office is housed here. There is a parish administrator who currently works part-time three mornings a week. This therefore allows the church to be staffed and open much more of the time, so that people can come in to pray, sit quietly, or find out things about the church and its activities.

The office is well equipped with a computer that has email facility and internet access. There is a dedicated direct phone line to the office and an answerphone. If you want to know any information about St. James's Church, please contact the office.


Address: The Parish Office
The Parish Church of St. James
St. James's Road
Hampton Hill
Middx. TW12 1DQ
Telephone: 020 8941 6003

Email: office@stjames-hamptonhill.org.uk

Streetmap: Map of Hampton Hill


Parish Administrator at work

Parish Administrator at work

Parish Administrator at work


Historical Background to the West Porch
"Church architecture is not just about designing a practical building, it is also about beauty and belief." As early as 1998 there was a proposal for glass doors at the west end of the church to convey these ideas by opening the view from the street to the full length of the church, right up to the altar with its cross. The July 1998 Spire reported: "We have a beautiful church which we want to share with those who pass by. More than this, the glass doors would also state that this church is open and welcoming. It is a church which is active in proclaiming the mission and purposes of God in our community. Glass doors would help to open up the mystery of God's presence in our world."

After many varied meetings during 2000 and 2001 it was decided to remove the current west porch, which was in a poor state, and rebuild it with an extension to provide an 'Open Door' welcoming look to the church and a staffed church office. Having this place for the administrative work of the parish to be securely and effectively undertaken would allow the church to be staffed and open much more of the time. In the plans there was also another room which could be used as a small meeting room, an interview room or a counselling room.

The west porch idea was introduced to the parish at St. James's Church Jubilee Open Day in June 2002. Read the article The 'Opening our Doors' project, as it was called, was officially launched at a St. James's Festival weekend in July of that year. Read the article After some years of problems (read the 2003 update and the 2004 update), finally, in October 2005, the Bishop of Kensington threw open the new west entrance doors and led the community into church for Parish Communion. Read the report The glass doors succeeded in giving a view from the road down the whole length of the nave and the chancel together with the ongoing life within, fulfilling the vision of opening up the church for all to see and join in. A further major modification of the church wiring was carried out during the building of the west porch extension in 2004-6. This included floodlighting the altar so that the interior of the church was lit to enhance the 'Open Door' aspect of the project. The new small room in the west porch, built as an interview room or a counselling room, proved to be too cold and damp and unuseable as such. It was therefore turned into a very useful storage room with fitted shelves.

For a more detailed account, read the page The History of the West Porch.

Further Information
Contacts
Contact the Parish Office on 020 8941 6003
Associated pages on this website

Associated pages on this website:
The West Porch (for youngsters in the Young St. James's section of the website) | The History of the West Porch


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