Friends Of St James Church Weybridge
About The Friends Of St James’
The Friends of St James’ is an Association of local people who help to maintain, preserve, repair and restore this beautiful building.
We raise money by holding concerts, plays and social events.
For more than 800 years a church has stood on the site of St James’. The church is not only an important part of Weybridge’s architectural heritage, but also a beautiful landmark that gives Weybridge its unique character.
Since the formation of the Association in 1988, the Friends have raised over £177,000 towards church projects.
The money we have raised has enabled the Church to make many important improvements, from re-hanging the bells to restoring antique vestments and installing the glass and wrought-iron North and South doors.
Recently we have supported the re-lighting and re-wiring of the whole building, the existing facilities having been judged as no longer safe. A modern computerised system now allows the building to be seen at its best.
This work was carried out with the support of the Victorian Society as well as the Church authorities.
The Friends also made a significant contribution to restoration of the mosaic floor in the Chancel. This work involved slow, laborious and highly skilled removal and relaying of the tiles.
Despite the marvellous achievements from previous fundraising, there is still much that needs to be done as can be seen from the photo on the above right which shows an area of the church building sadly in need of repair.
Photo credits: The photos above of the church interior, the mosaic tiles and need for repairs courtesy of talented local photographer Rachael Talibart who also provided the church yard photo below.
St James’ Church Building
Although the building of St. James’ was completed only in 1848, it replaced the Church of St. Nicholas , which had served the people of Weybridge for many hundreds of years.
Since its consecration in 1848, St James’ has been enlarged twice. The chancel was enlarged in 1889 and, soon after, the outer south aisle was added.
The chancel arch, originally very little higher than the arches in the nave, has also been heightened by ten feet, thereby greatly enhancing the proportions of the building.
St. James is a particularly fine example of the work of John Loughborough Pearson and is often described as the “Cathedral of the Thames Valley ” as the spire is a noted local landmark.
How You Can Support The Charity
Gifts / Donations
Gift Aid It / How Your Contribution Is Used.
Have you signed and given us a Gift Aid form? Your subscription will be increased by 25% if you do this – we can claim this amount back from the Inland Revenue – every little helps!
For a donation of at least £15 per year you can contribute to maintaining the character of Weybridge and a building of outstanding architectural significance.
Our membership is open to all. It is secular in its constitution and its management.
Under the terms of our constitution any funds raised may only be used for the maintenance of the fabric of St. James’ building. We cannot and do not fund any maintenance of the church gardens or the Parish Centre.
Registered Charity
Charity Number 800920
Easy Fundraising
Did you know that whenever you buy anything online, you could be raising a free donation for Friends of St James Church Weybridge?
There are over 4,000 retailers including John Lewis, Argos, Uswitch, eBay, M&S, Just Eat, Now TV, Domino’s Pizza and Audible ready to give a free donation every time you shop online via easyfundraising. It only takes 2 minutes to sign up.
Plus, if you sign up and raise £5 in donations, easyfundraising will give us a bonus £5 donation.
All you have to do is:
2. Click ‘support this cause’ and create an account
3. Choose from over 4,000 retailers to do your online shopping as normal and our cause will receive a free donation with every purchase you make.
Thank you for your support, you’ll be helping to make a real difference to Friends of St James Church Weybridge.
Events
Our upcoming / most recent events are on the News & Events section of All About Weybridge. See below and select ‘Read More’ to visit the event pages for full information. Tickets to events may be purchased in person from St. James’ Parish Office, Weybridge.
Contact Friends Of St James’ Weybridge
stjamesweybridge@btinternet.com
* Please mention the All About Weybridge website when you contact FOSJ
Tickets - Address
St James’s Church Parish Office
Church Street,
Weybridge,
Surrey
KT13 8DE
Tickets - Phone
Parish Office: 01932 856 399 *
Some events also have an additional phone number for tickets, which can be seen on the relevant page.