Church Of St James Approximately 50 Metres North Of Walton Hall

The Church of St James, located approximately 50 metres north of Walton Hall, was largely rebuilt in 1750 for Sir Charles Mordaunt and subsequently enlarged in 1842 for Sir John Mordaunt. The church is constructed from limestone ashlar with a dressed stone plinth, and has a slate roof.

The plan comprises a three-bay nave and a straight-ended chancel. The 1842 chancel features angle pilasters and a top entablature, with a Venetian east window and tall return windows framed by eared architraves, friezes, and cornices. The nave has a top cornice, and windows with similar detailing on its north and south sides, alongside a smaller vestry window at the west end of the north side. The west end is distinguished by a pediment supporting an 1842 bellcote in the form of a triumphal arch with its own pediment. A Diocletian window was inserted above the entrance around 1900. A Doric porch with a triglyph frieze and guttae provides access, leading to paired three-fielded-panel doors, with matching panels above.

The interior predominantly dates from the 1842 alteration, and includes a flagged floor. The chancel has a coffered barrel vault and rich mouldings around the east window, including a band of scrolling foliage around the arch. Sill courses with an imbricated moulding run along the nave walls, framing windows with eared architraves, friezes, and cornices. A rich frieze and cornice, incorporating paired acanthus modillions, runs along the nave, and the ceiling is coved and coffered, featuring three large wheel motifs. A west gallery, extended around 1900, is supported by timber antae with Greek Revival capitals. Panelling within the vestry, situated in the north-west angle, incorporates an 1842 stained-glass roundel originally from the east window.

The church contains a pudding-basin font of uncertain origin, with a 19th-century base. The majority of furniture, including benches, reading desks, and a pulpit with guilloche mouldings and some marquetry, dates from alterations around 1900. The 1897 east window is by Clayton and Bell, with adjacent windows dated 1905 and 1907. Nave north windows date from 1902 and 1933, the latter by Maile and Son of London, while the south windows contain decorative stained glass from 1900, featuring roundels with an undulating border.

Historically, the original church served the now-lost medieval village of Walton d'Eivile, which stood to the south of Walton Hall. The village disappeared during the 16th century.