The Spire is the monthly parish magazine of St. James's Church and has developed in both style and production, being redesigned and developed into a journal that has been widely acclaimed as clear, accessible and informative. The size of the magazine has changed, there is effective use of colour and there is now no advertising. The magazine is distributed free, but each year there is an appeal for voluntary contributions.

The magazine is produced and distributed by a group of parishioners who believe that good communication is essential to the understanding and propagation of the Christian faith. The Spire aims to have as wide a variety of material as possible, including not only church notices and reports but also articles reflecting the life of parishioners, the wider community and national or global issues. Besides the magazine’s necessary factual content - who to contact for particular needs and how to find them, days and times of services, etc., there are features which are helpful or interesting to as wide an audience as possible.

The vicar writes a Leader in every issue with his reflection on matters of Christian concern. The Young Spire page can be instructive to people well beyond youth. Members of our community write of their personal beliefs and interests. Also covered are charities, both at home and abroad, matters of community concern and activities which help our local or distant communities. There are many readers of the magazine, churchgoers or not, who have things to write which would be helpful and interesting to others. Some have already contributed and it is hoped that future issues will contain many more articles of this type from a wide range of readers.

The Spire Committee is essentially the editorial committee who meet early each month to decide on the content of the next issue. During the following two weeks, the editors gather the material, decide on and create the layout, drafts are proof-read, sent to the printer and the magazine is ready in church by the first Sunday of each month.

Each issue, six hundred copies are delivered to the many distributors all around the parish and beyond. There is a band of volunteers who deliver copies to houses in the parish every month. Many copies are also sent out each time by post to a wide variety of people - past clergy, former parishioners, local churches, the Bishop of Kensington and Archdeacon of Middlesex, as well as the local newspapers, schools and hospitals. There is also a group of people who receive their copies by email. The distribution was reviewed in 2010 and as a result more copies were placed in the High Street, at the Post Office, library, Medical Centre and dentist with the response being "outreach at its best".

Collating the material

Sorting for distribution

Done!!

Delivering the magazine

Historical Background to the Magazine
The Hampton Hill Parish Magazine was launched in November 1884. It stated: "Its design is to place on record the various little events of parochial life, which are especially interesting to those who have taken part in them, or have been otherwise connected with them; to give statistics and financial statements of the various institutions of the parish; to give notice of the services of the Church, and of any parochial events which are to take place; and to give the Vicar an opportunity of communicating with his parishioners as occasion may require”. The magazines were sold, with the costs steadily increasing. Although it is not known when advertising was introduced (possibly right from the start), adverts certainly appear at the beginning of the twentieth century. The magazine has been distributed free of charge since 1962 and adverts were discontinued in 2006.

Until January 1931 the magazines are preserved bound together as hard-backed books, one or two years in a book. Parish material was published in association with a nationally produced inset, 'The Church Monthly'. January 1952 saw the introduction of 'The Spire', which had a new look and a wider range of material that fluctuated over the years. In 1962 an editorial team was formed to produce the magazine as it had been the vicar's responsibility up to then. April 2006 saw the first Spire produced 'in house', A4 in size, not A5, being copied in black and white on the copier in the new church office. Photographs were added for the first time. In 2008 it was decided to have the magazine professionally printed with full colour on both the front and back pages and with each front cover having a different, topical, full-page coloured image. Every year, three issues each contained two months: December/January, the two months at Lent/Easter and August/September. These were produced in full colour throughout. In 2011 the magazines became full colour throughout.

For a detailed account of the historical background to the parish magazine, read the page The History of the Magazine from its first issue in November 1884 up until the present day.