Shirley Parish Church

Shirley Parish Church is an anglican parish church which meets in Shirley, Southampton. The church owns two buildings, St James' and St John's churches. St James' is the church in which footballer Alan Shearer was married, and is a Grade II listed building. [ [http://www.southampton.gov.uk/Images/Listed%20Buildings%20in%20Southampton%20-%20List_tcm46-161808.pdf Southampton City Council: Listed buildings in Southampton] Accessed 13th September 2007.]

History

The Domesday Book records a church being present at Shirley in 1085, but on the 1st May 1574 the parish of Shirley was amalgamated with that of Millbrook as the small Shirley congregation could not afford the upkeep of the Shirley church building. The Shirley church was demolished in 1609, with stones from the old building used to enlarge St Nicholas' Church building in Millbrook.cite book | title = Shirley from Domesday to D Day | publisher = Southampton City Council | date = 1997 | location = Southampton | isbn = 1 872649 07 6 ]

By 1836, the population of the combined parish had reached 2,375 inhabitants, and the old Millbrook parish church was too small. Land was donated for a new church building in Shirley, and Church Building Society combined with private funding to pay for the structure itself. The new church, dedicated to St James, was consecrated in 20th August 1836 by the Bishop of Winchester with a large crowd present despite "unfavourable weather", according to the "Hampshire Advertiser" newspaper. The newspaper went on to give this description of the new building:

It contains six hundred sittings. At the back of the altar is a gothic screen, divided into three components, the outer entablatures contain the Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Belief, the centre entablature the crucifixion by Shayer, a first rate painting, the head of life itself and the expression of subdued anguish is beautifully conceived and awakes the feeling of an intense degree of interest. It is one of the happiest of his late products.

The building was also described in 1848 as "a handsome structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower".

The first vicar of Shirley was the Reverend William Orger, who looked after the parish for 25 years. During this time, the church grew quickly, to such an extend that the building was added to within a few years of its consecration. Balconies added in 1840 raised the capacity to 1080.'Shirburn - Shitterton', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 85-7. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=51273. Date accessed: 13 September 2007.] In 1848, only 432 of these pews were free, implying a regular congregation of around 600. A church clock was provided in 1875, and further new pews and a new chancel were added in 1881.

The parish register for St John's was started in 1912. [ [http://website.lineone.net/~hantshistory/parish-sot.html Southampton parish register dates] Accessed 13th September 2007.]

The interior of the St James' building was renovated in 1994; the pews were removed and the floor levelled and carpeted.

References

External links

* [http://www.shirleyparishchurch.org.uk Official website]