A Brief History of St. James the Greater
Originally the church, Bristol’s first, was called St. James the
Greater. The ministry in Bristol was begun prior to 1707-08 by The Rev. Thoroughgood Moore and carried on later by The Rev. George Keith and
The Rev. John Talbot, missionaries from the Church of England’s
“Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts”.
St. James’ was founded upon land given by Mr. Anthony Burton and Mr.
John Rowland. The first pulpit of black walnut was given by The Rev.
John Talbot who came by rowboat from St. Mary’s, Burlington, to
minister here. The original building was erected through the
generosity of Anthony Burton, John Rowland, the DeNormandie family
and others. It was one story high composed of brick and stone. The
first sermon was preached here before it was officially opened by
The Rev. Mr. Philiips. The church was consecrated for worship on St.
James’ Day, July 25, 1712.
For a number of years, the ministry here was sustained on an
irregular basis by English missionaries. As zeal for the American
Revolution developed, the Church of England missions in the colonies
suffered from neglect, largely because the clergy had taken vows at
the time of their ordination to uphold the Crown. Even before the
war began, the church building here was abandoned and vandalized.
Its windows and doors were ripped away and the interior exposed to
the elements. During the war, many soldiers were seen on Radcliffe
Street. General Lafayette, after receiving wounds at Brandywine, was
taken to Bethlehem by way of Bristol.
After the Peace, the original church was thoroughly renovated and
enlarged, its ministrations were regularly resumed.
In Philadelphia, in 1785, it was one of the churches represented to
form the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of
America. Thus, all the Church of England missions in the new country
were incorporated into one body, a national church with bishops,
priests, and deacons, self-governing, but still in communion with
the Church of England.
Since the days of its inception, about 40 clergy have served this
parish. In the Diocese of Pennsylvania , St. James’ Bristol is the
10th oldest of the Church of England missions.
The present edifice was built in 1857 at a cost of $10,000. From
1789 to 1795 George Washington was paid a salary of $25,000. Today's
president hascv a salary of $450,000. It is
mid-Victorian Gothic in architecture, built of Trenton fieldstone
with beaded moldings and corbels. The floor in the church vestibule
is composed of new ceramic tile and yet very old tile from the
standpoint of composition and styling. The decorate pieces have been
made from handmade molds, then baked in the old fashioned way at the
Moravian Tile Works in Doylestown. This art is fast disappearing in
American and can be found now in only one tile works in the Midwest.
Spot #1 -Mathew as a winged creature with a mans face, tracing Jesus' human genealogy
Spot#2 -Lions face for Mark, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness"
Spot#3 -Luke symbolized as an Ox, an animal of sacrifice. Atoning for the sacrifice of Jesus
Spot #4 -Soaring eagle as John in his narrative he rises to the loftiest heights
Parish building erected in 1877, under the Ladies' Church Aid Society