Church of St James

Church of St James

This is a parish church comprising a 13th-century nave and chancel which incorporates some 12th-century remains. A 16th-century west tower and south chapel were added, along with a north transept built in 1870 by A. Hartshorne. The building is constructed in coursed and dressed sandstone blocks with slate and plain tile roofs finished with stone copings. The plan consists of a five-bay nave, three-bay chancel, two-bay north transept, and two-bay south chapel.

The west tower dates to the early 16th century. It is four storeys tall with diagonal buttresses and a crenellated parapet featuring crocketed corner finials. The pointed west door has a double ogee-moulded frame. Immediately above is a window with a four-centred arch, three trefoil-headed lights and panel tracery. The third stage is blind to the west but has single trefoil-headed loops to north and south. The belfry opening consists of two transomed lights with a single reticulation beneath a four-centred arch.

The nave dates to the early 13th century and has two lancet windows on the south side. Below the westernmost window is a blocked recess, probably for an effigy, reached by an extension. A 19th-century gabled south porch with segmental pointed entrance was added. Inside, a 12th-century doorway of two orders of colonettes with carved cushion capitals features a green man motif. The inner order is zig-zag moulded with an unusual outer order.

The chancel is late 13th-century with bay divisions marked by buttresses and diagonal buttresses at the eastern angles. The pointed east window has four lights with reticulated tracery. Side lancet windows, with Y-tracery in the central examples, flank the chancel. Pilaster buttresses sit adjacent to the nave.

The south chapel is early 16th-century and was built by John Stoneywall, Abbot of Pershore. It features a crenellated parapet and windows with four-centred arches, panelled spandrels and deeply hollowed frames. The east window has five trefoil-headed lights; the south windows have four lights with squash tracery; the west window is blocked.

The north transept is built in ashlar with diagonal tooling. It has cusped lancets with hood moulds terminating in carved heads. The east wall contains a group of three linked lancets with a shared hood mould and a circular light above.

The interior features a 12th-century chancel arch of three orders. The outer and inner orders are carved with zig-zag, whilst the central order is roll-moulded. Each order springs from shafts with scalloped capitals and square abaci. A tall pointed tower arch with three orders of concave quadrant mouldings dates to the 16th century. A 20th-century pitched timber roof covers the nave. A two-bay arcade with four-centred arches and octagonal columns with moulded capitals separates the nave from the south chapel. The south transept roof has a very low pitch with all members moulded. To the left of the chancel arch, the remains of a staircase formerly leading to the rood loft survive.

The composite font has a 12th-century basin with diagonal reeding and an upper band of fan-like motifs. The stem is 13th-century, carved with stiff leaf detail, and was taken from Lichfield Cathedral.

Monuments include: in the chancel, an oval tablet to Edmund Green (died 1691) and a pedimented aedicule to Ann Eld (died 1772); in the south chapel, two 17th-century incised slabs, a memorial to Thomas Orme of 1717 by E. Stanton with a fluted Corinthian pilaster and semi-circular pediment broken by a bust and flanked by cherubs, and a sarcophagus monument to Elizabeth Ester (died 1869) by Peter Hollins with two child angels.

Stained glass of 14th-century date survives in the north-east and south-east windows of the chancel. The south chapel contains 20th-century glass: the east window dates to 1906 by H. Bryant and the south-east window to 1914.