Church of St James, Jamestown
| Church of St James | |
|
Jamestown, St Helena | |
|---|---|
| Status: | Parish church |
 St James' Church, Jamestown | |
| Anglican Church of Southern Africa | |
| Diocese of St Helena | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 15°55’31"S, 5°43’5"W |
| History | |
| Built 1774 | |
| Information | |
St James's Church is is the oldest Anglican church in the southern hemisphere. It stands in Jamestown the capital of the island of St Helena, and of the territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The church is part of the Diocese of St Helena.
This: the present building was built in 1774,[1] though it is of earlier foundation.
The church stands in the historic centre of Jamestown, close to the shore and to The Castle.It is designated as a Grade I listed building.[2]
_p068_-_JAMESTOWN,_ST._JAMES_CHURCH.jpg)
History
Oliver Cromwell granted a new charter to the English East India Company in 1657, which gave the Company the right to fortify and colonize any of its establishments. Because of the strategic importance of St Helena as a fortress and staging post on the way home from India, the Company claimed the island on 5 May 1659. The building of the fort was begun immediately and a little town sprang up in the valley with the chapel and was subsequently named Jamestown, after James, Duke of York, Later King James II. The valley, now known as James Valley, was called either Saint James Valley or Chapel Valley, after the chapel bult here; a prominent building as viewed from the bay.
In 1671, the East India Company sent the first of a long sequence of Church of England chaplains. The early, modest little church was replaced by a slightly bigger one in 1674, but was only later named St James's. By 1774 the first parish church in Jamestown showed signs of decay, and so finally a new building was erected.
St James's remains the oldest surviving Anglican church south of the Equator.[3]
Alterations were made in 1843 and 1869.[2] The church once possessed a spire, but this had to be taken down in 1980 for safety reasons.[4]
Parish of St James
The parish of St James (one of three parishes on the island) consists of St James's Church and three daughter churches:
- St John's, Upper Jamestown
- St Mary's, the Briars
- St Michael's, Rupert's Valley
See also
- St Paul's Cathedral - the cathedral church of St Helena, built in 1851, which replaced another early church on the island
- St Matthew, Hutt's Gate
Outside links
References
- ↑ Flickr
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 St Helena Government Planning Report Appendix 7: Listed Buildings
- ↑ http://netministries.org/see/churches/ch12963
- ↑ Flickr Photo showing the former spire
