Charity Registration Number: 1134133

The church is built in the Early English style, of about the middle of the thirteenth century with a small west end bell cote with one bell.

The contractor for the building was Herbert Neill of Manchester with the stone being quarried at Little Hulton Quarry. The Foundation Stone was laid on 9th August 1862 by the Revd William Burns, Vicar of Farnworth-with-Kearsley.

Located in the New Bury area of Farnworth on the junction of St James Street and George Street, the Parish Church of St James dates from 1862, although the actual Consecration date due to "Unavoidable Circumstances" was 30th Dec 1865 (the delay was thought to be due to the famine amongst Lancashire cotton workers caused by the cessation of supplies during the American Civil War) and was carried out by the first Bishop of Manchester James Prince Lee. At the time St James was still in the Diocese of Chester and in the parish of St Johns, in Farnworth-with- Kearsley (we had only moved from Deane parish just 10 years earlier).

Although most of the congregation are elderly we do have a Junior Church (following the Roots for Church for the younger end), this service takes place at the same time as the main service on a Sunday 10-00am.

The Anglican church of St. James opened in 1865 to serve the people of New Bury. It rivaled the New Bury Mission and provided a place of worship alongside a Sunday School, it stands amidst the graveyard which contains over 1000 graves.

One of the first tombs to be constructed was that of the first ever vicars at St. James, this tomb stands to the left of the main entrance as you enter the church.