ST JAMES THE GREAT
SUTTON-ON-HULL

St James', Sutton, seen from the old railway bridge on Sutton Road

ST PETERS, WAWNE

St Peter's, Wawne, from the churchyard, looking approx to the NE ;
click the photo for details of the history of St Peter's

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a Brief History of
the Church of St James the Great,
Sutton on Hull,
also known as, in olden times,
Sutton in Holderness

taken from the notes prepared by Merrill Rhodes

(click the photo-link above for details of St Peter's at Wawne).

The terms in CAPITALS refer to illustrations and diagrams in the original leaflet, which is still available from the Church Exhibition in the Old School, open every Friday, admission free.

A Chapel at Sudtone (Sutton) was first mentioned c.1160, occupying the site of the present church. It was built on the relatively high ridge of land stretching from Waghen (Wawne) towards Bilton, and was surrounded by low-lying marshy ground. It was separated from the mother church of Waghen in 1247. After this, Sutton had its own priests, usually relatives of the Lords of the manor, though Wawne retained rights of burial until much later.

By 1346, the chapel being in a dilapidated condition, the Lord of the manor, Sir John de Sutton, junior, decided to found a college of priests at Sutton, and agreed with his uncle, Thomas Sampson, rector, that the rebuilding should be undertaken at once.

The result is the building we see today, though altered inside. Sir John was at the expense of building the nave, using bricks, the manufacture of which had recently been introduced; and the chancel was remodelled or rebuilt by Thomas Sampson (or his college of priests), the stone being brought upriver to Stoneferry and thence by the Antholme Dyke to Sutton.

de Sutton Tomb
The new church was dedicated on 12 September 1349. Already in place in the chancel, some eight years before his death, was the fine stone TOMB of the founder, Sir John de Sutton, clad in the armour he wore in 1346 at the Battle of Crècy. 1349 was a year of national significance, remembered for that great pestilence, the Black Death. Out of 50 monks at Meaux, only 10 survived, and the population generally, much diminished.

As we stand at the West end, we see the nave and chancel built in the Decorated style, the nave for the use of the villagers, and the unusually long chancel where the priests of the college said their daily services.

The west end, including the brick Tower, was built later, probably at the beginning of the 15th century, in Perpendicular style. The nave aisles were extended to embrace the tower. Note the west DOOR and WINDOW, and, too, the massive, diagonally-placed PIERS, all typical of the period.

The Font and the Screen
The FONT, set on a modern base, dates from about 1200, and probably stood in the old chapel. The nailhead ornamentation round the rim characterises the Early English period. The font was moved here to form the small baptistery in 1922, the area formerly being used as a side chapel. Possibly the PISCINA (drain for washing the sacred vessels) in the south-east corner of the nave also dates from this time. The position of this piscina, and the nearby niche, indicates that formerly an altar would have stood here; and also in the corresponding place in the north-east corner, where an aumbrey can be seen.

The carved oak SCREEN between the tower and the font is a beautiful fragment dating from about 1450, and is probably part of the rood screen which originally separated the Nave and Chancel. Note the Perpendicular tracery, and see how one bay, possibly forming part of the door, differs from the other four.

After the Reformation, along with the dissolution of the monasteries, came the suppression of the religious communities, and the College of St James was dissolved about 1547. The priests were pensioned off and the property of the church was seized by the Crown.

Soon afterwards, parish registers were kept, at first in Latin, later in English.

For the next 300 years, Sutton church gradually decayed and was repaired or patched up. The height of the chancel was cut down, destroying the chancel arch and the tracery and pointed arch of the east window, now of five lights, but originally seven. The pitch of the nave roof was lowered and its external walls covered with rough cast. Some windows lost their tracery and were blocked.

In 1785 the first of the galleries was erected, positioned between the arches of the nave and the side walls, which were pierced for the placement of windows, forming a kind of clerestory. Seat stalls had replaced the open benches, and at that time a singing loft was situated at the west end. Beneath was an organ, worked by a handle. A fine three-decker pulpit stood between the nave and chancel, on a level with the galleries, with the reading-desk and clerk’s desk below. The PAINTING of St James the Great by Parkin, was fixed to the front panel. The church interior was very different from that of today.

Victorian restorations
The Victorians set about restoring the church in July 1866, when the building was closed for worship for a year. A brass plate in the vestry records the architect as R G Smith, the Borough Surveyor, though the Plans in the County archives show the architect as Cuthbert Brodrick. The galleries were removed, and the chancel arch and floor raised. Next to the new SEDILIA, but much lower, remains the medieval PISCINA. The east and west windows were reconstructed. Stone PIERS in the nave replaced the imposing brick columns. The whole church was reseated and open pews installed. A new VESTRY was built to replace the one in the south-west corner. The WALL MONUMENTS in this corner are interesting, the virtues of those commemorated being much cherished; the Bell family was prominent in Sutton for several decades. Another interesting tablet, in the baptistry, is that of Charles Pool, who was the King’s commissioner for drainage in this low-lying parish. The new PULPIT of marble and stone was acquired. The ROOFS were remodelled and raised. At the same time, the PARSONAGE HOUSE was built in Wawne Road, designed by Sutton architect and historian, Thomas Blashill.

The Church Organ
Shortly after the major restoration, gas lighting was installed, and in 1870 the monument of the founder was moved from the centre of the chancel to the side. In 1873 the present ORGAN by Forster & Andrews was built, though the organ chamber itself was not completed for another ten years. Its presence gives a somewhat curious appearance in that the Decorated windows now look into the organ chamber and vestry, instead of onto the churchyard.

In 1889 a great deal of exterior work was carried out, including the buttresses. The south side was provided with new battlements and pinnacles, whilst the north wall was completely taken down and the windows of the galleries removed. A new doorway was constructed.

The name of LIDDELL will be noted – inhabitants of Sutton House for almost a century, and great benefactors of the church. To them we owe the handsome brass LECTERN, the stained glass of the east and west windows, the re-casting of three bells, and a further three bells.

In 1920, the widow of Thomas Margison gave as a memorial the new CHOIR STALLS and READING DESK, and funds for the sanctuary walls to be panelled. The frontal carvings of the altar were executed at about the same time by the vicar, Revd George Arthur Coleman.

A further commemoration was made by the Scott family of The Hollies in 1933 when the church was provided with electric lighting.

It was not until 1955 that the rough-casting placed on the nave walls in 1793 was removed, exposing once again the medieval brickwork on the south side, now 650 years old. A decade later, it was deemed necessary to rebuild the battlements on that side.

In 1968 the vestry was refurbished in oak by ‘Mousie’ Thompson, as a memorial to Emily Calvert by her husband, Con, whose family were Sutton blacksmiths for a century and a half.

The 19th century porch over the south door was removed in 1972, being by then in a poor state of repair.

St James’ Church has been the centre of worship in Sutton and Bransholme since medieval times, and we hope you will enjoy your visit to this beautiful church.