Church Of St. James

Church of St. James

A former Benedictine Priory founded from Thorney Abbey in 1139, now serving as the parish church. The building combines work from the 12th century through the 19th century, with major phases in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, and later alterations around 1730, 1819, and 1830. It is constructed of ashlar and coursed squared limestone rubble with Collyweston slate roofing.

The church comprises a western tower, clerestoried nave, south aisle, porch, and chancel. The western tower dates to around 1730 and was altered in 1819. It is three storeys high, built in ashlar with a moulded plinth and string courses, clasping angle buttresses, and a pierced arched balustrade. The spire is recessed with lower two-light lucarnes and similar single-light lucarnes on the principal sides. The belfry stage has two pairs of semi-circular headed lights with stepped keyblocks. On the south side is a semi-circular headed door with moulded imposts having stepped and fluted keyblocks. The second stage contains a single circular opening and an octagonal slate clock face. Beneath the parapet is the inscription "TJ 1819". The west side has a three-light window with semi-circular heads and a keyblock to the over-arch.

On the north wall of the nave, a late 12th-century string course with zigzag and chevron moulding marks the outer wall of the original church. One 14th-century three-light window was partly blocked when massive stepped buttresses were added alongside three large three-light windows with panel tracery. The north wall of the chancel has two pairs of 14th-century cusped ogee lights and a doorway with an ogee head and hood with floriate knop. The chancel east window is a three-light window with cusped ogee heads. On the south side is a three-light 14th-century window with cusped ogee heads, flat hood, and two early 13th-century single lights with rounded heads and shafts. The east wall of the south aisle has a pair of early 14th-century three-light windows with cusped ogee, trilobe, and geometric heads. On the south side of the nave is a four-light window under a wide moulded round arch and five pointed 15th-century three-light windows with cusped ogee tracery, separated by pilasters with gabled bases. The west wall contains a further 14th-century three-light window with flowing tracery.

The gabled south porch dates to the early 13th century and has a steeply pointed outer doorway with clustered shafted reveals, annular capitals, moulded head, dogtooth hood, and beast head terminals. Above the doorway is an 18th-century pedimented sundial. The porch contains side benches and a 14th-century inner door with continuously moulded surround and hood. Above this door is a Rococo wall slab commemorating Ann Buck, died 1752.

Interior: A seven-bay south arcade of late 12th-century date has quatrefoil piers with keeled shafts to the angles, square abaci, and plain capitals apart from two pelleted jewelled cushion capitals to the west. The arches are deeply rolled and moulded semi-circular arches with hoods. At two points are the remains of what appear to be the springing of transverse arches. Above is a triforium of 13 bays having keeled half-shafts and moulded pointed heads. In alternating bays are single clerestory lancets. On the north side is a single contemporary blocked arch. The three 15th-century north nave windows have rounded rear 13th-century arches with angle shafts. At the west end of the nave is an 18th-century rounded doorway with a contemporary window above. The nave roof tie beam is dated 1830. In the south aisle the corbel table of the mid-12th-century nave is visible. At the east end of the south aisle is a late 13th-century cusped trefoil-headed piscina and an aumbry. The east wall contains a further pointed-headed piscina and an early 13th-century aumbry with hobnail hood in the north wall. In the chancel south wall are six chamfered and rounded arches springing from annular corbels with conical bases, probably sedilia. Beyond is an early 13th-century double piscina with mid-shaft and a Tudor-arched doorway. Above are three fine early 13th-century rear arches with clustered shafts to the reveals, dogtoothing and stiff-leaf capitals, all with elaborately moulded arches.

Fittings: A large early 12th-century tub font features intersecting blank arcading to the sides, with a fine 18th-century inlaid octagonal cover and contemporary wrought-iron suspension chain. An 18th-century hud or graveside shelter has a shaped roof and semi-circular arched opening with impost and fluted keyblock.

Monuments: The chancel contains an early 13th-century recumbent effigy of a knight with dogtoothing to the sides, and a worn 14th-century coped effigy depicting a recumbent figure beneath a crocketed and pinnacled canopy, with decorative coverlet and feet resting on an animal. In the south aisle are two late 18th-century wall plaques.