Church Of St James

The Church of St James is a parish church dating to the early 14th century, with significant rebuilding in 1682, and Victorian alterations around 1870 and 1900 by E. A. Minty of London, brother of the incumbent at the time. The building is constructed of coursed rubble and squared sandstone, with sandstone ashlar detailing, and has plain tile and lead roofs. It comprises a nave, south porch, chancel, a west vestry, and a bell turret.

The south elevation of the nave is irregular. A gabled south porch has a plain chamfered arch. To the right of the porch is a two-light window with trefoil-headed lights under a flat head, and further along a three-light window also under a flat head, with 19th-century cusped ogee lights. Three buttresses feature numerous set-offs. A circular sun dial is set beneath the parapet.

The chancel, likely rebuilt in 1682, as indicated by a carved stone in the east wall, has a chamfered plinth, no window openings to the north, and a two-light flat-headed window to the south with cusped ogee lights, the upper parts of the tracery filled in. The east window, dating to around 1870, has reticulated tracery. The lower part of this window incorporates an unusual stepped arrangement of small pierced trefoils and quatrefoils in roundels, creating a reredos effect with coloured glass.

The north elevation of the nave is also irregular, with buttresses of varying sizes, a blocked 19th-century flat-headed doorway, and a two-light window with cusped ogee lights under a flat head. The west vestry and bellcote were added in 1900. The lean-to vestry has coped walls and a two-light west window with cusped pointed-arched lights and shanks that are almost straight. The tall, thin ashlar bellcote is distinguished by diamond plan angle piers, a small pitched plain tile roof, a lead spike, and twin arched bell openings. A chamfered round-arched south doorway is also present.

The interior is plain, with rendered walls. A double chamfered tower arch is visible, and the nave roof has cambered tie beams. Several corbels from the earlier roof remain in the north and south walls. An octagonal stone font bowl is located at the east end of the nave, while a smaller font with an octagonal bowl and base sits at the west end. Three charity boards dated 1765 are displayed. The 14th-century chancel arch is double chamfered, with damaged moulded capitals.