Former Church of St James is a Grade I listed building in the Norwich local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 May 1954. A Medieval Church. 3 related planning applications.

Former Church of St James

WRENN ID
far-forge-dew
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
Norwich
Constituency
Norwich South MP: Clive Lewis (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
26 May 1954
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Former Church of St James, Whitefriars, NR3 1SU
OS grid reference
TG 234 093
Coordinates
52.63597, 1.30034
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Former Church of St James is a Grade I listed building located on Whitefriars. This former parish church, now used as a Puppet Theatre, dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. It is constructed of flint with stone and brick dressings, featuring brick and slate roofs. The church includes a west tower, nave, chancel, south aisle, and south porch.

The short three-stage tower is supported by internal arched supports and has a brick octagonal top stage with two-light windows on the north and south sides, both featuring Y-tracery. The two-storey porch is integrated within the west end of the aisle, with an outer doorway that has a two-centre arch and attached shafts. Above the door is a three-light window with a central statue pedestal.

The church has a four-bay nave and a two-bay chancel, with three-light Perpendicular windows throughout. The early 16th-century three-bay arcade and two-bay chancel arcade are supported by octagonal piers and feature four-centre arches. The chancel arch is also notable, along with the scissor-brace nave roof.

Local climate

Former Church of St James sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 88% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 95% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 24 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 75% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 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

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
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  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • 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
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