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The Church of St James, Lower Darwen
in the County of
-- Lancashire --

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St. James Lower Darwen

The building of St. James Church, Black-a-Moor was begun in 1823 as a plan was drawn up, Parlament was asked to grant money to build it, and land was purchased. The cost of building the church was £5,491. The original church was built of stone and in Gothic style with a hexagonal tower. The church opened in 1839 but was only licensed to perform marriages. All baptisms and burials were performed at either St. Paul's Church or St. Mary-the-Virgin Church in Blackburn. In 1848, the church was licensed to perform baptisms and burials. There were 654 sittings of which 410 were free. The Rev J.A. Glazebrook was the first pastor in 1841. He served until Rev. George Sumner took over in 1884.

The Black-a-Moor school associated with this church was built in 1837 and enlarged in 1873. The Guide school also associated with this church was built in 1833. It was enlarged and rebuilt in 1888.

The original St. James Church suffered from wet rot and was demolished in 1969. A new modern church was built in its place. The modern day church serves 11,000 people.

St. James has a burial ground. In the 1970's the Monumental Inscriptions were recorded. The majority of names in the MI listing are those families that have been in the village for centuries.

The baptismal, marriage and burial records for this church have not been filmed by any organization. Any records after 1848 must be obtained from the Lancashire Records Office by request. Records prior to 1848 would be held by the mother C of E church, St. Mary-the-Virgin Church in Blackburn.

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