Church Of St James

Church of St James

This is a medieval parish church at Southrepps, constructed of flint with stone dressings and a graded slate roof. The building comprises a west tower, nave, chancel, and south porch.

The embattled west tower stands in four stages with setback buttresses. Documentary evidence of its construction or alteration appears in wills dating from 1431 to 1467. The tower features flushwork to the buttresses with embattled tracery, and a flushwork base course topped by a wavy frieze decorated with shells and blank shields. The west doorway is notable for its paired shafts with polygonal abaci and bases, a continuous inner order, and an arch with rolls and hollows between. Cusped quatrefoils encircle the arch with shields in the spandrels. On either side of the doorway stand niches with shafts supporting rib-vaulted canopies; these are surmounted by a wavy frieze with shells and shields. A tall six-light west window features panel tracery with alternating stone and flint voussoirs, its hood mould continuing to form a string course. A stair turret in the north-west corner contains cross and slit lights. The ringing chamber has square openings with rows of panel tracery forming a reticulated grid, while the bell-openings are three lights with transoms and panel tracery.

The nave originally had aisles, which were demolished in 1791; the line of these former aisle roofs is visible on the east face of the tower. The nave walls are largely 19th century work, though they contain three 19th-century Decorated three-light windows to the south. A 19th-century chimney stands centrally to the north, alongside a Y-tracery window, with some 19th-century brick repairs to the buttresses. A rood stair occupies the angle of the nave and chancel, supported on a two-centred chamfered arch with brick above.

The chancel is buttressed across three bays with angle buttresses to the eastern corners. To the south are three three-light windows with cusped reticulated tracery; the central window has a higher sill to accommodate a priest's door, above which runs a sill band with figures. The priest's door itself features two continuous hollow chamfers with a roll between, and a hood mould with figure stops. A six-light east window dates to the 19th century in the Decorated style. The south porch possibly relocated after aisle demolition incorporates a medieval archway, now restored, with shafts having polygonal abaci and a continuous outer order. Blocked lights appear in the east and north walls. A 19th-century nave doorway also exists.

Internally, a tall tower arch features paired shafts with polygonal bases and abaci, with a continuous roll moulding between the shafts and an outer continuous roll moulding. Tower buttresses are visible inside. The nave contains 14th-century arcades of four bays with octagonal piers, bases, and abaci; the arches have two hollow chamfered orders with hood moulds and figure stops. The roof is 19th-century work. Polygonal shafts and abaci mark the chancel arch. The rere-arches of chancel windows have thin shafts with foliated capitals and hood moulds with figure stops; the east rere-arch is restored with foliated stops. A piscina and sedilia display one-and-a-half ogee arches, cut through by a window. A sill band with figures runs above the priest's door, while its rere-arch features five orders of roll and fillet moulding with deeply cut hollows and a hood with figure stops. A north door is 19th-century work. Small south windows retain 14th-century glass. The roof is a good example of 19th-century work with arched wind-braces and crown posts on 19th-century foliated corbels. Remains of the rood stair survive.

A medieval screen, with restored upper parts, stands in the interior. A marble monument reset in the north nave wall commemorates Jane Barton, died 1726, and William Barton, died 1740, and is embellished with Corinthian pilasters, an arched head with cherubs, and a foliated apron with a cherub's head; painted arms of George III appear above. A restored octagonal font with quatrefoils to the bowl is also present.