Church Of St James

Parish church of St James at Castle Bytham, built over several periods from the late 12th century through to around 1900. The church is constructed of squared and coursed limestone rubble with slate and lead roofs.

The building comprises a western tower, nave with clerestory, aisles, north porch, transepts and chancel. The three-stage early 13th-century tower has a plinth, chamfered string courses, and an embattled parapet decorated with a cusped lozenge frieze and gargoyles. The belfry stage contains paired pointed lights with round-headed shafted surrounds. On the south side is a large octagonal sundial dated 1774. The west wall features a blocked narrow opening and a lancet window to each stage, plus a blank circular opening with octagonal ashlar surround. An octagonal clock is positioned on the north face.

The north aisle contains two early 14th-century three-light windows with cusped Y tracery, and a similar two-light window to the north. The north porch is a long early 13th-century gabled structure with engaged triple shafts to the reveals, moulded capitals and a double chamfered arch with human head label stops to the hood. Side benches are present within. A 14th-century continuously moulded inner doorway provides access. The 14th-century clerestory consists of three two-light windows with rounded heads to the lights, sunk spandrels, hood moulds, and a ballflower eaves frieze.

The north transept's north window dates to the late 13th century and has three lights with plate tracery featuring sunk trefoils and quatrefoils. A 19th-century lancet is set in the east wall. The 14th-century chancel has a continuously moulded pointed doorway and two two-light windows with curvilinear tracery and mouchettes. The late 13th-century east window contains three lights with roll moulded mullions and surround, deeply sunk roundels and quatrefoil to the head. The south side is matched by three windows similar to those on the north.

The 13th-century south transept has a lancet to the east and three stepped lancets to the south under a single chamfered arch. There is no clerestory to the south side, but two two-light windows with mouchettes and a continuously moulded doorway are present.

The interior contains a late 12th-century three-bay north arcade with circular responds but octagonal piers, featuring waterleaf and facetted capitals with double chamfered round arches. An early 13th-century tower arch has circular responds, facetted capitals and double chamfered arches. Above is a small 12th-century round-headed window with a blocked opening to the right and evidence of another opening to the left. A further late 12th-century archway to the south transept has octagonal responds and double chamfered round arches.

In the east wall of the north transept is a 13th-century piscina. The chancel arch is double chamfered and 13th-century in date; to its left is a blank arch (a former squint) now with a 19th-century carved rear panel, and to the right a four-centred 15th-century doorway to the rood loft. The nave roof appears to be 14th-century with moulded tie beams on wall posts with simple corbels.

The chancel contains a 14th-century piscina with hacked back cusps and a carved wooden reredos of around 1900. On the north wall is a 14th-century Easter Sepulchre with bold hollow cusped and crocketed ogee arched canopy with pinnacles and ballflowers. Above is a ledge with panelled front featuring blank cusped ogee arches, crockets and pinnacles.

The fittings include an early 17th-century octagonal font with panelled sides containing abstract decoration, a stepped cross and the Sacred Monogram. In the nave is a fine brass candelabrum dated 1816. Other fittings are 19th-century and around 1900 in date. 19th-century stained glass is present, as is a ladder at the west end of the nave made from the village maypole of 1660. A 10th-century Saxon cross shaft with cable moulded angles, floral decoration to the sides and interlace to the panels is also preserved.

Monuments include a stone wall plaque in the form of an obelisk with palms to William Exton (died 1789) by Gilbert of Stamford, located in the north transept. In the south wall of the nave is a further obelisk wall plaque with draped urn to John Coverley (died 1787). In the chancel are three matching round-headed plaques commemorating members of the Hopkinson family (1793, 1810, 1825).