History

"This church cannot claim a long history but it has a distinctive character and romantic beginning, being a pure gift from two residents in this village:

Alice Makant and Margaret Haddock, who were both sisters, who gave their large fortune to build it, supervising the work from their home at the Westhoughton Corn Mill, situated in Mill Lane."

Daisy Hill Parish Church Year Book, 1966


On this page you will find presentations on features of the building, the story of how it came into existence and information on our war graves and memorials.

Video Presentations

The first video contains a slide tour of the Church of St. James the Great.


The second video is a presentation where you can discover the East Window and find the Dragon. It explores the design and making of the stained glass window designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, made by Morris & Co. and described as “superb” by Nikolaus Pevsner in his series, 'The Buildings of England'. The video includes close-ups of details not easily seen by the naked eye, the watercolour design and some of Burne-Jones cartoons (drawings) for each section of the window.

Publications

'The East Window' and 'From Corn Mill to Church'; two booklets resulting from our Heritage Lottery Fund grant documenting the results of our research. Read about a church built on corn by a family names Haddock with a patron saint who's emoji is a scallop shell in From Corn Mill to Church and about the superb stained glass window by Morris & Co dedicated to the donors of Daisy Hill church.

Booklet_Details_and_Review_.pdf

History

St James the Great has been at the heart of the Daisy Hill community since 1881.

As Daisy Hill as grown, so has the church. You can read more about the history of the church by clicking the button below.

War Graves and Memorials

In 2018, we were pleased to become part of the Commonwealth War Graves Signage Project, instigated to coincide with the centenary of the first world war.

Use the link below to find out more information, including a map map of the location of the War Graves and a list of the war dead.

The Icon of St James the Great

The story of the creation of the Daisy Hill St James the Great Icon

By Glenys Latham

"Twice my sister-in-law and brother-in-law invited me to attend a talk on Icons and Icon painting being given by the Rev. Christopher Perins, a priest attached to the Liverpool Diocese. On both occasions I couldn’t go, then they told he was leading a week long Icon painting retreat at Rydal Hall in Ambleside, a retreat centre run by the Carlisle Diocese.

A telephone call to Rydal revealed one place left on the course and a room available, and so feeling nudged in that direction, I booked.

From there, my interest has grown along with my understanding of the place Icons can have in prayer. I have now attended 4 icon painting retreats and painted 4 icons."

To read the full story that brought into being the Daisy Hill St. James the Great Icon click on the image.