St James the Great

St James the Great Church Daisy Hill is a Grade II* listed building, designed by the notable architects Paley & Austin, built 1879 to 1881 and described as 'a masterly performance for very little cash, £6500' in The Buildings of England by Claire Hartwell, Matthew Hyde and Nikolaus Pevsner.

The east window designed by Morris & Co, described as 'superb' by Nikolaus Pevsner, was installed in memory of the Haddock Family, benefactors of Daisy Hill’s school and church, and dedicated to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

The figures are by Edward Burne Jones, the glass painters include Bowman, Stokes and Walters with wonderful twining foliage painted by Wren. Research has revealed the window design is dated February 16 1898 so this is one of the last windows Burne-Jones designed before his sudden death on the 17 of June 1898. Burne-Jones chose to identify St John by using the medieval symbol associated with him, a dragon emerging from a chalice, it is a splendid multi coloured forked tongued beast. There is a suggestion of portraiture in the heads of the Saints in the window, the models seem to have been, Burne-Jones, Morris in youth and middle age and Holman Hunt. There is a density of detail, that we cannot fully appreciate with the naked eye, but which adds a big range of colour variations and creates an over all feeling of richness of colour that is certainly evident to the unaided eye.

The north transept window is by Edith Norris, a Bolton artist who worked in glass and mosaic. It was installed in memory of George Henry Ogden, vicar from 1921 to 1946 and his wife Selina. Research reveals the window was installed in the 1973 and not in 1946 as recorded by Pevsner. The multi winged Reredos, dated 1924, given in memory of Thomas and Elizabeth Welch was designed by James Austin one of the church architects. It is believed the wonderful woodcarving, was carried out in Hinkley, Leicestershire and the painted panels are reputed to be by Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster.