OUR HISTORY
Consecrated in 1837, St. James’ Methodist Chapel was, until 1984, the oldest remaining place of worship in Pensnett; the Parish Church of St. Mark being consecrated in 1849.
The idea to build a new chapel was first put forward by a group of people at a meeting held in the upper room of the Elephant and Castle Public House in Bromley, owned by Mr Grocott. Mr William Barlow was appointed secretary and proved an ardent worker, loved and respected by church members and local people alike. Another founder member was Mr James Raybould and it is thought that the Church was probably named after him; and of course, James the Apostle of our Lord.
Pensnett was primarily a mining area and due to the lack of work during the ‘hungry forties’; many people left Pensnett to search for work further a field. John Worton, the only child of Samuel Worton settled in Glasgow. Sadly, Samuel tragically died aged 39 years, but John never forgot his home in Chapel Street, Pensnett. As a wealthy brewer, John donated £2000 to build the Sunday School. The Worton grave stone can now be seen as the centrepiece of a circular flower bed in front of the new church hall.
The architect who built the church was Mr Long. A small porch was added later giving access to the balcony, but this was demolished in 1954. The earliest lighting was from candles and music was provided by a small orchestra. A gas supply was provided in 1859 and electricity was introduced in 1900. The original organ was installed in 1863, but the loft and choir stalls were replaced in 1928. The new organ was a two manual and pedal pneumatic action cased in oak, built by Messrs Conacher Sheffield and Co Ltd, Birmingham.
The original chapel served the people of Pensnett for many years, but required an ever increasing budget for repairs to maintain it’s safety. A decision was made to replace the existing church with a new place of worship.
Demolition began in November 1983 and the new church was opened in September 1984 by Mr and Mrs E L Adams, life long members of St, James’.
The total cost of the new building was £125,000,00 Three large stained glass windows and the original semi-circular window were modified and incorporated into the new church. Much of the oak furniture from the old chapel was was made Mr Granville Raybould, a faithful member of St. James' for many years. Such items include the oak communion table, baptistery rail and lectern.Many items were retained; however, the original pews were replaced with more comfortable chairs. Mr Raybould also made the beautifully fashioned oak cross situated high on the chancel wall. A similar cross was placed on the front of St. James' Church. The smaller original cross from the old Sunday School remains in the Church Hall. An ‘Eminent’ two manual and pedal electronic organ was bought in 1983 from Stourbridge at a cost of £900.00 second hand. Nine generous benefactors each contributed £100 to purchase this instrument which has served the congregation admirably well since 1984.
The present porch, designed and built by Bryjon Builders was completed in November 1992 at a cost of £25,000 and opened by Mrs E M Preene, Superintendent of the Sunday School.
The original Sunday School (or Worton Memorial Schoolroom as it was known) was sold to Grinnell Homes in 1994. It was subsequently dismantled and many of the materials and internal furnishings sold. The surrounding land and care taker’s house were redeveloped.
The new Church Hall was built by Neil Grinnell Homes. A foundation stone was laid in 1995 and sited to the left of the main entrance. The inscription reads, ‘To God Be The Glory’. The official opening was carried out by the Mayor of Dudley in September 1995.
The new internal glass panelled church doors, along with the stained glass light boxes and radiator covers were made by R.G. Wilkes, Brierley Hill and installed in ?1999. The cost of this project exceeded £4000, much of which was raised from generous donations and income from fundraising activities, but enabled the use of four beautiful stained glass windows installed in the original church vestibule. The inscription reads: ‘And so the shadows fall apart – And so the west winds play – And all the windows of my heart – I open to the day’; chosen by Mr E L Adams from a famous verse by John Greenleaf Whittier. A second inscription beneath this reads: ‘I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the House of the Lord’.
A portable communion rail was designed and made by Mr Cyril Edwards. This was installed in 2005 and given in memory of Mrs. Margaret Bagnall (1939 – 2004). The large pulpit was dismantled in order to produce a smaller pulpit/lectern designed and manufactured by Mr Cyril Edwards. The organ was re-sited from its original position adjacent to the kitchen/choir vestry to the minister’s vestry and the original baptistery rail was refashioned into a prayer table, designed and made by Mr D. Bernard Tolley in 2007.
New stackable chairs were purchased in 2007. Twenty of the original chairs, many of them given in memory of individuals associated with St. James’ were retained, with the remaining 100 being freely given to Bromley Methodist Church.
A new Eminent Alpha 300/32 three manual digital organ was installed by Cathedral Organs in June 2009 as part of the 25th Church Anniversary Celebrations taking place in September 2009 with the inaugural concert given by Mr Paul Carr.
A new pulpit drape was designed by Mr Andrew Bagnall and made by Miss Pauline Preene in memory of her mother, Mrs Elsie M. Preene who died in 2008 just a couple of weeks short of her 100th birthday.
In August 2011, members of the Church Council agreed that part of the chancel area be raised, giving a more aesthetically pleasing view of the stained glass window oak light boxes made by Mr Raybould and also the original alter table from the original church. A tapestry made by Mrs E. Marjorie Willetts is situated on the wall above this table.
In July & August 2015, modifications to the interior lighting within church was completed along with the installation of two new projectors and TV monitor to enhance contemporary worship at St. James'. Modifications to the lights on the chancel wall cross were carried out in January 2016. In the summer of 2016 audio-visual patch panels were added allowing technology to be operated from both the front and rear of the church. In preparation for Film Club, a projector was added to the Church Hall in late 2017, along with a small update to the audio system. A new laptop was purchased in October 2018 along with backing tracks, MP3 player and audio bible for use at REVOLUTION, Café Church and Prayer & Praise services.
On Friday 20th September, 2019, new porch doors were installed following a generous bequest from the late Miss Yvonne Bennett MBE who died in January 2019. The doors were dedicated to the Glory of God at a REVOLUTION Service on Sunday 6th October, 2019 as part of St. James' 35th Church Anniversary celebrations.
A new laptop and mixing desk were purchased in September 2020 to replace existing equipment. These items, along with additional CCTV cameras, were paid for by a generous donation from the family of the late Jean Matthews.