St James the Great
Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
Magnificent Victorian brick church with stone spire prominent on the Barrow in Furness skyline.
The arcaded interior is richly decorated with carvings, including the magnificent altar and reredos. Red, Galway green and white marbles are used to striking decorative effect and harmonise with the infusion of light from the stained glass windows. A wonderful place for quiet contemplation.
The words high above the sanctuary in St Mary’s read ‘Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord’.
It is praise of God that is infused into every stone, window and tapestry of the church. Everything tells a story of clergy and laity seeking to show their enduring love of God.
From the original Edward Welby Pugin design, with its beautiful rich decoration of colours and elegant vaulting arches; to the magnificent altar and reredos with their different coloured marbles of red, Galway green and white; to the hand crafted mosaics and embroidery step markers; to the pencilled fish hidden under the font by children.
In St Mary’s the quiet joy of God enters your heart and points out our true purpose and the meaning of our lives. The air itself is sweet with the smell of incense and the smoke of candles, rising upwards to heaven.
Since its solemn opening 150 years ago in 1866 and the completion of its landmark tower and spire in 1888, St Mary’s has been ‘an ornament to the town’.
Come and pray in the quiet of the Lady Chapel and rest a while in the rose garden. Feel the love of the hardworking labourers of Barrow made manifest in stone.