Presbytery to the Roman Catholic Church of St James

St James' Presbytery was built in 1889 to designs by Edward Goldie of Goldie, Childs and Goldie. It stands as a functional Perpendicular Gothic structure in deliberate architectural contrast to its neighbouring Roman Catholic Church of St James, with which it is contemporary. The presbytery is constructed of London stock brick with Bath stone dressings, all beneath a slate roof.

The building rises to four storeys over a basement and is wedged onto a restricted site between the north transept of St James' Church and George Street. This tight plot has resulted in an irregular plan with several rooms having oblique angles. The building is two bays wide to the south and three to the east, with small rectangular openings to the gable apexes. It terminates rather abruptly at the junction with the church to the east.

The south elevation is dominated by a two-storey oriel on a deep corbelled base, positioned above the entrance at the left bay. The east elevation features a three-storey projecting box bay to the left. All windows are transomed and mullioned in groups of twos, threes and fours. Those to the oriel have full Portland stone surrounds; the remainder have flush stone lintels and cills only. All windows are square-headed, except for that to the right of the entrance, which is four-centred. The stairwell windows to the centre of the east elevation incorporate partially stained glass. The entrance comprises a four-centred opening containing an original timber door with brass nameplates beneath four glazed lights and matching tympanum over, accessed via steps with a tiled platform. The building is finished with tall tiered chimneystacks.

Interior accommodation on each floor is arranged around a central stair hall or landing. The closed string dogleg timber staircase has tapered square-section balusters and drop finials. The ground floor entrance and stair halls are tiled, with plaster cornicing and original lincrusta beneath the dado. The ground floor dining room has pine panelled wainscoting and a grey marble cill. Doors throughout are generally four or six panels with original timber and brass knobs. Chimneypieces are intact in all principal rooms, executed in a variety of materials including marble and carved timber.

The basement retains original main and scullery kitchens, serviced by an original dumbwaiter which remains in use. It houses original fixtures and fittings including a sink, meshed cupboards and stores with ventilation panels to the doors. The basement stair is enclosed by a glazed panelled screen wall. Service quarters are located in the basement, with principal rooms generally positioned to the south-east corner of the building, which has double aspect over the street.

Connecting lobbies to the upper floors formerly linked the presbytery to the adjoining building (No.24 George Street), providing access to nuns' quarters, though party walls are scheduled for reinstatement. A ground floor corridor provides access to robing rooms and sacristies, which subsequently give access to the church.