St Philip and St James' Church, Clifton

St Philip and St James' Church
The church, in 2010
53.97083°N 1.09728°W / 53.97083; -1.09728
Location	York, North Yorkshire
Address	Clifton, York
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Website	www.cliftonparish.org.uk
History
Status	Active
Consecrated	1867
Architecture
Architect(s)	George Fowler Jones
Style	Gothic Revival
Construction cost	£3,800
Specifications
Materials	Stone
Administration
Province	York
Diocese	York
Archdeaconry	York
Deanery	York

St Philip and St James' Church is a parish church in Clifton, a suburb of inner northern York, in England.

Until the mid-19th century, Clifton fell mostly within the parish of St Olave's Church, and also a detached part of the parish of St Michael le Belfrey. The heirs of Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey donated a site by Clifton Green for the construction of a church. It was designed by George Fowler Jones, and was completed in 1867, at a cost of £3,800. It was given its own parish in 1871.^[1]

The church celebrated its centenary in 1967 by commissioning Kenneth Leighton to write a hymn, "O God, enfold me in the sun".^[2] Between 1984 and 1989, the church was reordered by Ronald Sims, who replaced the pews with chairs, and converted the chancel and transepts into meeting rooms.^[3] The building was grade II listed in 1997.^[4] Nikolaus Pevsner was critical of the design, describing a "ponderous west tower", but praised the "excellent fittings in a plainer Pace style".^[3]

The church is in the Early English style, and is built of stone, with slate roofs, topped by a stone cross and finials. It comprises a five-bay nave, a two-bay chancel, north and south transepts, a west tower, and a south porch. On the north side is a half-hexagonal staircase turret, and a vestry. Most of the windows are lancets, some in groups of three, while the west window has a trefoil head. and many of the bays are divided by buttresses. The main entrance is on the north side and has 20th-century double doors. Inside there is a hammerbeam roof, with carved and gilded angels attached to the westernmost bay.^[4] The window in the north transept has stained glass by Clayton and Bell, while the east window of the south transept is by John Ward Knowles, and other windows have plain glass designed by Sims.^[3]

References

1. Tillott, P. M. (1961). A History of the County of York: the City of York. London: Victoria County History. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
2. "Parish Records of York, St. Philip and St. James, Clifton" (PDF). University of York. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
3. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Neave, David (1995) [1972]. Yorkshire: York and the East Riding. The Buildings of England (2 ed.). New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09593-7.
4. Historic England. "Church of St Philip and St James (1259228)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 August 2024.

External links

• Official website