Church of St James Garlickhithe is a Grade I listed building in the City of London local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 January 1950. A Post-medieval Church. 3 related planning applications.

Church of St James Garlickhithe

WRENN ID
worn-shingle-gold
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
City of London
Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
4 January 1950
Type
Church
Period
Post-medieval
Address
Church of St James Garlickhithe, Garlick Hill Ec4, City and County of the City of London
OS grid reference
TQ 323 808
Coordinates
51.51112, -0.09368
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Church of St James Garlickhithe, built between 1674 and 1687 by Sir Christopher Wren, is an aisled building featuring central transepts and a clerestory, arranged within a rectangular layout with a projecting sanctuary and west tower. The structure is made of red brick with stone dressings, and the walls below the clerestory level are stuccoed. It has round-arched windows, with those in the transepts reduced to circles, and segmental arches for the clerestory. A blocked north doorway is present, and the main cornice is made of stone with a brick parapet. The west front is of stone, adorned with scrolls flanking the tower, which is primarily faced with Portland stone. The tower is plain with a pierced parapet and four urns, topped by an elaborate stone lantern in three stages featuring paired Ionic columns. Beneath the tower is a domed lobby.

Inside, the church has an order of Ionic columns on high panelled pedestals that support the clerestory and a high, coved ceiling. There is a west gallery supported by two decorative iron supports, housing a fine organ case from 1697. Other notable 17th-century fittings, not all original to the church, include a pulpit, a marble font with a cover, stalls, panelling, a communion table, and a remade reredos. Two staircases leading to the gallery are likely from the early 18th century. A painting of the resurrection is located at the east end, along with various wall monuments.

Local climate

Church of St James Garlickhithe sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 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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  • 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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