St James, Guernsey, Concert hall and church building in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey.
St James stands on College Street in Saint Peter Port, roughly opposite Elizabeth College. The former church, designed by John Wilson and completed by 1818, now serves as a concert and assembly hall. Its Whittaker Hall seats 576 people in theatre style, and the 2002 Dorey Centre adds meeting rooms, a café and exhibition space.
Admiral James de Saumarez proposed in October 1815 a church where the British garrison could worship in English. Designed by John Wilson, it was completed by 1818 at a cost of nearly £7,000. It became redundant in 1970, and after the Friends of St James formed in 1981, the States of Guernsey funded restoration; the Duke of Kent reopened it on 5 July 1985, and the work won a Civic Trust Award in 1986.
The former church is now a hall for concerts, dinners and weddings, with the Whittaker Hall seating 576 theatre-style or 217 for dinners. The Dorey Centre, finished in 2002, added meeting rooms, a café and exhibition space. Its gallery displays the Bailiwick of Guernsey Millennium Tapestry, and the building is hired for formal dinners and weddings.
St James stands on College Street, roughly opposite Elizabeth College. Whittaker Hall seats 576 in theatre style or 217 for dinners; the Dorey Room seats 90, the Founders Room 35, and the Walter and Rothschild Rooms serve as boardrooms. The Dorey Centre, added in 2002, holds meeting rooms, a café and administration offices, plus exhibition space for formal dinners and weddings.
The gallery of St James was chosen to house the Bailiwick of Guernsey Millennium Tapestry, a community embroidery made for the year 2000. The building also holds the Whittaker Hall, which seats 576 people in theatre style or 217 for dinners, and the smaller Dorey, Founders, Walter and Rothschild rooms.
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