The Northamptonshire Mercury of this date reported the erection in the nave of Peterborough Cathedral, near the organ screen, of an extremely handsome pulpit. It was said that it would cost £700 and that it was being raised to the memory of the late John James D.D., formally a canon of the cathedral, by the deceased gentleman's family. It is certainly a magnificent structure, a great ornament to the interior of the sacred edifice, and would supply a want long felt at the Sunday evening services. The materials of which the pulpit is built are red Mansfield stone and Devonshire and Greek green marble. The Revd James was a prolific writer on the many strands of Christian belief and worship. His 1842 work on The Mother's Help Towards Instructing Her Children in the Excellences of the Catechism, and of the Services Appointed by the Church of England for the More Special Occasions which Mark Christian Life and his 1853 book A harmonized summary of the Four Gospels, comprising every chapter and verse therein are typical of his ability to cover complex subjects in a way that the families of the time could understand and use.

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.