Church Of St James The Greater

The Church of St James the Greater is a parish church that underwent rebuilding in 1883, originally constructed in 1815. Designed by Ewan Christian, it is built from Charnwood granite rubble and features Swithland slate roofs. The church includes a west tower, nave, south porch, chancel, and north vestry, all designed in a simple Decorated style. Architectural details include a traceried window, coped gables, some offset buttresses, a chamfered plinth, and moulded eaves.

The west tower has two stages and is topped with a battlemented parapet, which features a fleuron string and corner gargoyles, along with a pyramid roof. The bell chamber has 2-light arched openings, and there is a similar window on the west side. The lower stage has tall slit windows, and a round stair turret is located at the north angle between the tower and nave. The west end of the nave has a cusped lancet window south of the tower.

The nave is four bays long and features rectangular windows with cusped tracery and hoodmoulds, mostly in 2-light configurations, with a 3-light window in the east bay. The south door is set in a moulded arch, and the gabled south porch has a similar arch. The chancel includes arched windows with cusped tracery and hoodmoulds, with single and 2-light windows to the south and a 3-light window to the east. The south door has a Caernarvon arch, and there is a single light and lean-to vestry to the north.

Inside, the church features a double chamfered tower arch and a moulded chancel arch supported by corbels. The nave has a crown-post roof, while the chancel roof has barrel ribs. Most fittings are from the late 19th and 20th centuries, but there is also an early 19th-century octagonal stone font and six lances from the Battle of Waterloo. The original church was consecrated on the same day as the Battle, and a triangular stone tablet leaning against the south wall of the tower is inscribed 'Erected 1815'.