St. James’ Church,Kingston (SY95555 79552)  Lead authors: PJB and JT

St. James’ Church in Kingston (SY95555 79552) was built for the 3rd Earl of Eldon, using stone taken from quarries on his estate. The exterior is ashlar of Burr – the Broken Shell Limestone from the Upper Purbeck. Many blocks of this stone show white patches which the quarrymen have found are extremely hard.

Exterior stone, known as Burr to local masons, weathers from cream to grey but here red lichen thrives to disguise the broken shell of which it is made.

The quasi-gothic church of prominent Victorian architect of G. E. Street - his personal favourite. A cruciform floor plan with central tower, apse and narthex, built in local stone by local masons between 1874 & 1880 & to become in 1921 the new village church. All images by PJB unless specified.

The entrance porch (narthex) is also built of Burr, including the outer pillars. The entrance arch has pillars of Purbeck Marble that are weathering to a brown colour.

The dry interior of the narthex with green rather than red lichens growing over the Burr.

Broken Shell Limestone or Burr close up (10cm diam.) and showing ingress of red alga or lichen.

The interior walls are ashlar of Purbeck-Portland ‘cliff stone’ from both St. Aldhelm’s Head and London Doors quarries. The arches separating the nave from the aisles, and the clerestory walls, are of ‘cliff stone’ ashlar. The capitals of the supporting columns have been carved from ‘cliff stone’ from St. Aldhelm’s Head quarry. The bowl of the font is also of ‘cliff stone’, smoothed and almost polished, standing on a support of Purbeck Marble.

The church is accessed centrally, from the now red and green lichened Purbeck marble colonnaded archway.

The nave columns have been built of stacked horizontal drums of Purbeck Marble, with polished vertical Marble pillars on four sides. The nave floor is of encaustic tiles, with lines of chequer between the columns of ‘cliff stone’ and a grey stone not identified.

Richly sculpted Purbeck-Portland 'cliff stone’ capitals are sharply delineated between the marble string course and their composite columns. The stacked bedding cores in each column are surrounded by eight turned shafts of alternate thickness. In the aisle to the right pairs of colonnettes support the window arches.

Because the Purbeck Marble beds rarely reach their maximum 4ft depth of bedding,shafts of greater length must be turned along the bedding and not across it.So vertical turnings or stacks of this stone are rare unless dowelled or glued together. (Inset = x2 mag)

Ceramic or encaustic tiles were in fashion throughout the Victorian era. They cover the floors of St. James but are interspersed symetrically with tiles of Purbeck-Portland freestone and an unknown grey limestone. The freestone surface has a “brushed” finish adding grip that holds dirt & making these tiles look speckled.

Victorian taste in electric rather than gas light. An unusual mix of encaustic and stone tiles, are laid below this the nave of four major arches separating both a North & South aisle.The arches stand on unusually complex columns of polished Purbeck Marble.

This close up of a 4 inch diameter. Purbeck Marble shaft reveals a bed of very broken freshwater viviparus shell. This bed runs through the entire shaft so we know that it is a bed laid down between the most commonly more slightly damaged gastropods/snails.

Short font stand turnings show both across bed and along bedding shafts.The exemplary sculpting of the font bowl of Purbeck-Portland freestone was proven by the first made, after a full month's work, being rejected on completion.

The steps to the chancel are of Derbyshire crinoidal limestone. The steps into the vestry are of ‘cliff stone’. The altar is standing on a platform of white Italian marble.

The incomplete altar base has a surround of commonly U.K. imported Carrara true marble. Two panels behind the altar are blue graphite flecked white marble known as Sicilian but from Italy.

The polished step from the Nave to the Chancel is of crinoid limestone in a black matrix from the Derbyshire Peak District.

Those panels, both sides and at front of the altar, are creamer and have finely disseminated reddish flecks of hematite. (Inset = x2 mag)

Crinoids were important reef builders in the Carboniferous period. Here we see the distinctive round ossicles and some fragments in section. Note by KJH

Text by JT, Images and Captions by PJB. 6/6/17.