St. James' Church, Barrow-in-Furness

St. James Church located on Blake Street in Barrow-in-Furness, belongs to the Church of England's Diocese of Carlisle within the ecclesiastical Province of York. The present church building dates from the mid-19th century and is Grade II* listed.BackgroundSt. James' was established in 1867 and construction of the building itself was completed in 1869, it was only the second Anglican church to be built in the rapidly growing town. With a capacity of over 1,000 worshipers, St. James' is the largest place of worship in the town; architecturally the building is also one of the most prominent features in the Barrow skyline. The spire of St. James' stands at 45.7m, while the length and breadth of the building come to 39m and 18.3m respectively.The church also has a notable organ that was commissioned in 1837 to be designed and built by William Hill, and originally installed in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace, London. This fine organ would have been used for the wedding service on 10 February 1840 between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1865 the organ was removed (to be replaced), the original organ completed a move to its current location in 1868, and was rebuilt with a new action (and an additional 400 pipes) in 1884. Although heavily damaged in the 1941 Barrow Blitz during World War II, the church was re-opened in 1943.