St. James's Church, Louth

It is all but impossible to take in a complete view of the church as it is surrounded by other buildings The only way to get an overall impression of its size and the height of the tower and steeple is from a model which can be seen inside the church:



As I approached the church from the shopping area of the town the great East window could be seen:



Viewed from inside:



I had only set out to visit the market but on impulse I decided to have a quick look round the parish church as well.  I hoped the cafe would be open as I was looking forward to a sit down with a cup of tea. Fortunately it was so I ordered a pot of tea and a toasted teacake to enjoy in pleasant surroundings:



While I sat looking around to my great pleasure the organist decided to have a practice session. I started up a video just to capture the sound. I only managed a short recording before I was interrupted:



The camera wasn't able to capture the rich bass sounds which could be felt as well as heard from the organ positioned at the opposite end of the church.  I said I was interrupted, though in a pleasant way. A lady with her daughter and two grand-daughters asked if they could join me as this was the only table with enough room for us all. We had a long chat while I enjoyed my toasted teacake. They were hoping to climb the tower to take in the fantastic views but it was locked. I think, for safety reasons, someone has to make a note of how many people go up and make sure they all get back down safely. Hopefully someone would be available to allow them access before they left.

The cafe is situated under the tower and from where I was sitting I could see one of the many stained glass windows:



Looking straight up I could see the sunburst decoration on the roof of the tower over 85 feet above my head:



The sides of the Nave are full of stained glass windows. As far as I can work out they were all installed from the mid 1800's to early 1900's. All told there are some 33 windows with stained glass.







The Chancel with the high altar and choir stalls:



An old font positioned near the organ loft:



The 19th Century font made from Staffordshire alabaster:

    

     

Four of the panels show biblical scenes:
The Garden of Eden, Christ's Baptism and the Crucifixion seen here:



The fourth shows Noah's Ark.

A view of the roof of the Nave:



There is much more detail to be seen in and around the building which I will have to explore on a future visit as it was time to think of meandering back to the car. Next time I will take another camera and a flash gun.