Ruins of St James' Chapel is a Grade II listed building in the King0s Lynn and West Norfolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 1 December 1951. Ruin. 1 related planning application.

Ruins of St James' Chapel

WRENN ID
high-brick-rook
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
King0s Lynn and West Norfolk
Constituency
North West Norfolk MP: James Wild (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
1 December 1951
Type
Ruin
Address
Ruins of St James' Chapel, County Court Road, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, PE30 5EJ
OS grid reference
TF 621 198
Coordinates
52.75151, 0.40099
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The ruins of St James' Chapel are located on County Court Road in King's Lynn. Founded before 1146, the nave was demolished in 1548 and extensively robbed in 1559, leaving only the crossing and one bay of the chancel. These remnants were converted into a workhouse by the Council in 1580, which became ruinous by 1680. The workhouse was rebuilt in 1681, possibly to designs by Henry Bell, who was part of the supervising committee. The central bay and tower collapsed in 1854, and the site was used for industry until it was demolished in 1910. The original layout followed Mendicant lines, featuring a nave, chancel, and a central octagonal tower over a passageway. The structure has a brick core with limestone facing and currently has no roof. The west end shows the ruins of a cruciform crossing pier with a set-off, while the east pier lacks ashlar facing. Between these piers is a brick infill that contains a 4-light timber mullioned window with a transom, likely dating from 1680.

Local climate

Ruins of St James' Chapel sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 720 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 84% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 86% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 27 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 70% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 1 application
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Ruins of St James Chapel, Ancillary Buildings Grade II 24 m
  2. London Road Methodist Chapel Grade II 27 m
  3. County Court Including Railings to Facade Grade II 41 m
  4. The Carnegie Library Grade II 95 m
  5. War Memorial in Tower Gardens Grade II 100 m
  6. Framingham's Hospital Grade II 113 m
  7. Stone Arches in Tower Gardens Grade II 123 m
  8. Greyfriars Tower in Tower Gardens Grade I 131 m
  9. 33 to 39 St James' Street, including premises occupied by Kwik Fit Grade II 159 m
  10. Walls Enclosing Jewish Cemetery Grade II 171 m