St. James’ Church ( C.N.I ), Kolkata — Attraction in Kolkata

St. James' Church in Entally, Kolkata (Calcutta), India, is one of Kolkata's most elegant churches. Built in 1862,the twin spires of the St. James' Church dominates Kolkata's skyline. It is popularly known as Jora Girja (Bengali:জোড়া গির্জা), literally meaning twin church for its twin spires. The present church was built to replace an older one of the same name which was situated in Nebutolla Lane, near Amherst Street. This earlier church, built very much after the style and plan of St. Thomas’ Church, Free School Street, was consecrated by Bishop Reginald Heber on 12 November 1829. It appears to have fallen into a state of disrepair, due chiefly to white ants having eaten into the beams, and was declared unsafe for divine worship. An attempt was made to repair the building, but while the work was in progress, the roof fell in during the early hours of the morning of 23 August 1859, leaving the church in ruins. It was decided to abandon any further attempts to repair the Church as it was found to be very much out of the way, and in many ways inconvenient for those attending it. The church authorities, therefore, resolved to build a new church in a more convenient locality and, in conjunction with it, a school for the children of the neighbourhood. Prominent vicars of this church in the past include the late Fr Basil Manuel and the Rt Revd Dr John Perumbalath, currently Bishop of Bradwell in the...

St. James' Church, also known as Jora Girja (Bengali: literally meaning twin church for its twin spires in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, built in 1862, is one of most impressive churches in the city, and the largest protestant church that can accommodate about 600 people at a time in its prayer hall. The present church, replaced the older one of the same name which was situated in Nebutolla Lane, near Amherst Street. This earlier church was built using St. Thomas’ Church as model in style and design and was consecrated by Bishop Reginald Heber on 12 November,1829. The twin spires of the St. James' Church dominated the Kolkata's skyline. The church became unsafe for divine worship due to poor maintenance, lack of funds, etc and at one state, the wooden beams and other important structures were heavily damaged because of sustained termite attack. On August 23, 1858, when the restoration work had just begun, the roof caved in, causing heavy damages. As the church was too damaged to resume restoration work, the church authorities decided to have a new church built in a new locality along with a school for children. The historical church in the past had prominent vicars such as Basil Manuel and John Perumbalath, currently Archdeacon of Barking in the Church of England. God bless...

Sitting in my newspaper office opposite St. James' Church I would often let my imagination run riot. The  twin spires of the most elegant of churches of Kolkata built in 1862 the spires dominated the skyline of the locality known as Jora Girja -জোড়া গির্জা. It was indeed built to replace an older one of the same name which was situated near Amherst Street. This earlier church, built in 1829 appears to have fallen into a state of disrepair and was declared unsafe for divine worship. It was decided to abandon any attempts to repair the Church. The church authorities, therefore, resolved to build a new church in a more convenient locality and, in conjunction with it, a school for the children of the neighbourhood. The project for building the new church got support and backing of Archdeacon Pratt, a keen educationist, who, with his influence, was able to acquire the garden house of Mr. Coates together with its spacious grounds for the purpose. At the same time, a smaller house on the grounds was also acquired for the residence of the Chaplain.  St. James school and Pratt memorial school are a testimony to Archdeacon Pratt's foresight. On school holidays one can visualise the old City and the time when there were people who could translate their wishes for the...