St. James the Greater Church, Leicester

Saint James the Greater is a Grade II listed* parish church in the Church of England, located south of Leicester’s city center on London Road, directly opposite Victoria Park. Established in 1881 as a daughter church of Saint Peter’s Church, Leicester, it originally operated from a temporary wooden structure before growing into one of the city’s most architecturally striking religious buildings.

By the 1890s, the increasing congregation necessitated the construction of a permanent church, a project entrusted to Leicester architect Henry Langton Goddard. Under the influence of Bishop Mandell Creighton, Goddard traveled through northern Italy, drawing inspiration from Torcello Cathedral in the Venetian Lagoon for the church’s external design and Venetian and Florentine churches for its elaborate interior. The foundation stone was laid on 28 October 1899, and the church was consecrated on 25 July 1901. The west front, completed between 1911 and 1914, was dedicated by Bishop Edward Carr Glyn.

Saint James the Greater became an independent parish on 25 June 1918, but in the late 1950s, declining attendance placed it under threat of closure by the Diocese of Leicester. The arrival of Reverend Lawrence Jackson in 1959 marked a turning point, as his dynamic leadership revitalized the congregation, making it one of the largest in the Diocese by the time he left for Coventry in 1965.

Today, Saint James the Greater remains an active and well-known church in Leicester, hosting a range of community events and worship services. With two church halls, it continues to serve as a significant religious and cultural landmark in the city.