Church of St. Philip and St. James, Church Lane, Tow Law (Tow Law)
Parish church. Circa 1867-1869 by C. Hodgson Fowler. Roughly-squared coursed sandstone with ashlar dressings; Welsh slate roof with stone gable copings; stone spire. Nave with west porch and south-west tower; chancel with north vestry. Decorated style. Full-width porch has two 2-centred-arched doors, boarded and with elaborate hinges, under continuous drip string which is a sill string for 3 central lancets. Wide buttresses with steeply-coped setback under gabled coping of pent roof. Large wheel window above and octagonal tower at right. Tower has buttresses on alternate sides, with slit windows to stair and shouldered-arched belfry openings, under octagonal spire with lucarnes.
3-bay nave has paired lancets in first 2 bays, lancet and 2-light window in third; 2-light window and lancet in chancel. 5-light east window under 8-foiled roundel. Steeply-pitched roof has stone cross finials; weather-cock finial on spire.
Interior: coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings. King-post nave roof with arch-braced scissor trusses on stone-corbelled brackets; chancel has panelled wood barrel vault, 2-centred chancel arch of 2 orders, the inner on short shafts with clasping rings. Windows have wide 2-centred rere-arches. Similarly-shaped organ arch and drip-mould over trefoil-headed vestry doorway. Full-width painted panel below east window; wood-panelled chancel. Unusual rood screen composed of varnished applied cones and other fruit. Glass includes east window in memory of M.H. Simpson, first vicar; north windows signed E. Smyth Sc. (c.1945) and Stanley Murray Scott 1965. Other windows original leaded lights in rectangular and lozenge patterns. Stone pulpit with open balustrade and marble shafts; square stone font on pedestal and 4 shafts. High-quality doors and original fittings, with stencilled felted draught curtains to inner doors.
Known to contain a number of features dedicated as war memorials (3-4).
3-bay nave has paired lancets in first 2 bays, lancet and 2-light window in third; 2-light window and lancet in chancel. 5-light east window under 8-foiled roundel. Steeply-pitched roof has stone cross finials; weather-cock finial on spire.
Interior: coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings. King-post nave roof with arch-braced scissor trusses on stone-corbelled brackets; chancel has panelled wood barrel vault, 2-centred chancel arch of 2 orders, the inner on short shafts with clasping rings. Windows have wide 2-centred rere-arches. Similarly-shaped organ arch and drip-mould over trefoil-headed vestry doorway. Full-width painted panel below east window; wood-panelled chancel. Unusual rood screen composed of varnished applied cones and other fruit. Glass includes east window in memory of M.H. Simpson, first vicar; north windows signed E. Smyth Sc. (c.1945) and Stanley Murray Scott 1965. Other windows original leaded lights in rectangular and lozenge patterns. Stone pulpit with open balustrade and marble shafts; square stone font on pedestal and 4 shafts. High-quality doors and original fittings, with stencilled felted draught curtains to inner doors.
Known to contain a number of features dedicated as war memorials (3-4).
D37730
Post Medieval (1540 to 1901)
20th Century (1901 to 2000)
First World War (1914 to 1918)
Second World War (1939 to 1945)
20th Century (1901 to 2000)
First World War (1914 to 1918)
Second World War (1939 to 1945)
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