Church of St Philip and St James

About

St Philip and St James' Church is a parish church in Clifton, a suburb of inner northern York, in England. Until the mid-19th century, Clifton fell mostly within the parish of St Olave's Church, and also a detached part of the parish of St Michael le Belfrey. The heirs of Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey donated a site by Clifton Green for the construction of a church.

It was designed by George Fowler Jones, and was completed in 1867, at a cost of £3,800. It was given its own parish in 1871. The church celebrated its centenary in 1967 by commissioning Kenneth Leighton to write a hymn, "O God, enfold me in the sun".

Between 1984 and 1989, the church was reordered by Ronald Sims, who replaced the pews with chairs, and converted the chancel and transepts into meeting rooms. The building was grade II listed in 1997. Nikolaus Pevsner was critical of the design, describing a "ponderous west tower", but praised the "excellent fittings in a plainer Pace style".

The church is in the Early English style, and is built of stone, with slate roofs, topped by a stone cross and finials. It comprises a five-bay nave, a two-bay chancel, north and south transepts, a west tower, and a south porch...