History

The church of St James the Less was built in 1880, as one of a number of prominent buildings in New Mills erected by local Victorian philanthropists. The character of New Mills is significantly influenced by such developments, which took place with particular intensity in the latter half of the nineteenth century, following the building of the Union Bridge in 1884.

The church and associated buildings (Almshouses / Board School) thus form part of the identity of the town of New Mills. The church of St James the Less was built in conjunction with a group of almshouses at the expense of Mr and Mrs John Mackie of Cliff House, Crigglestone (near Wakefield) and Watford House, New Mills. The church is dedicated to the memory of Mary Mackie’s parents, James and Martha Ingham. The architect for the whole complex was W Swinden Barber of Leeds. The builders were local craftsmen: Thomas Stafford of New Mills, the stonemason and Joseph Hudson of Birch Vale, the joiner.

The church enjoys the distinction of stained glass windows by C E Kempe, the celebrated Victorian designer, and wall panels which are the remnants of a full polychrome decorative scheme by the Powell Brothers of Leeds. Little alteration has taken place since its construction.

The Mackies also endowed the St James’ Sunday School on Spring Bank. Mrs Mackie later financed the Science Library extension to the Board School (now Adult Education) next to St James’ Square on Spring Bank and provided two houses for gentlewomen who had fallen on hard times (probably widows of the Boer War) with a charity for their welfare in memory of her husband John.