Church of St James

The Church of St James is a Decorated Gothic style church with Perpendicular elements, built in the 18th century. It is constructed from brown brick in English bond, with red brick and stone dressings. The upper walls are faced in flint with chequered patterns to the aisle parapets. The nave and chancel have clay tile roofs.

The church is aligned north-south and includes a tall nave with north and south aisles, originally of six bays, a north porch, a west narthex porch, a chancel with a chapel on the north side and a smaller chapel to the south housing an organ chamber above. Vestries for the choir and clergy, each with a small porch, are located to the south and east of the sanctuary. The three western bays of the nave and aisles have been partitioned off by a full-height wall, along with the insertion of a floor and stairs to create a parish hall.

The west elevation features a gabled porch with a four-centred arch and a niche containing a figure of St James. Flanking the niche are blind windows with ogee heads. Further features include tall paired windows and a round gable window incorporating mouchette tracery. The nave and chancel windows have moulded brick pointed arches and cinquefoil headed lights. Aisle windows are three-light Perpendicular designs with ogee heads set in rectangular surrounds with dripmoulds. The north aisle and chapel have three-light east windows set in four-centred arches, while the north chapel has pointed windows with reticulated tracery on its north side. A belfry is positioned on the north side of the nave gable. The doors are distinguished by elaborate Arts-and-Crafts style hingework.

Inside, the nave and chancel have wagon roofs, the latter boarded. Walls are faced with brown and contrasting red brick; those to the aisles are plastered. The nave and chancel arcades rest on moulded stone columns and are topped with moulded brick arches. A tall octagonal timber pulpit features traceried panels and lunettes. A carved timber rood beam with a crucifix and figures of the Virgin Mary and St John spans the tall chancel arch. Timber screens with delicate Gothic tracery separate the arcades between the chancel and the north and south chapels, with a panelled front to the organ chamber above the south chapel. The chancel and sanctuary contain choir benches and panelling with carved decoration and openwork trefoils, an arcaded timber communion rail, and an altar. The east window depicts the Tree of Jesse in stained glass dating from 1933, a design by (Sir) Ninian Comper. The north chapel includes a small sanctuary with a stone arch carved with sacred monograms and symbols, a piscina, a timber panelled altar, and stained glass from 1897 originally in a previous church, commemorating members of the Wyndham and Bamber families. The nave, aisles, and chapels contain timber benches with scrolled ends. The subdivided portion of the nave and aisles, now the church hall, has no retained fittings. A metal stair leads to the upper floor, and roofs are concealed by suspended ceilings.