Church Of St James

The Church of St James is a parish church dating back to the mid-12th century, with significant additions and alterations in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, and a major rebuilding in 1862-65 by G.E. Street. The building is constructed of stone, with some rendered areas, and has tile and slate roofing.

The church's plan incorporates a chancel, nave, south porch, north aisle, and a Lady Chapel, which was originally a vestry. The late 12th-century nave retains north and south arches, reset with a slightly chamfered arch and one order of columns with scallop capitals and a roll-moulding respectively, alongside a chancel arch, possibly incorporating 13th-century painted lozenge and spiral decoration. The chancel itself dates to the 13th century, with three stepped lancet windows. The south wall of the nave has three 14th-century windows, while a low west tower is of 15th-century origin. In 1864-65, G.E. Street added an arcaded north aisle in the Early English style, featuring dogtooth along the arcade piers supporting the two-story vestry (later converted to the Lady Chapel), in which a 12th-century doorway was reset. The roof was also renewed at this time, and the south porch was rebuilt.

Inside, the church contains a 12th- or 13th-century tub font, a 13th-century piscina with a shouldered lintel, a marble reredos from 1862-63, and stalls and a pulpit designed by Street. The Norman columns at the chancel arch retain their original paint, displaying spirals on one and lozenges on the other, offering a rare glimpse of medieval interior decorative schemes. A 19th-century organ, formerly located in Carfax church, occupies the west end of the nave and was repainted in the mid-20th century with a gold and red "medieval" colour scheme.

Historically, the church was granted to Osney Abbey in 1149, and the remaining Norman elements likely date from shortly thereafter. As Cowley expanded and industrialized in the mid-19th century, the congregation grew, prompting the near-total rebuilding by G.E. Street in 1862-65.

The Church of St James is a largely intact medieval parish church displaying features from the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. The survival of the 12th-century chancel arch with its probable 13th-century painted decoration is particularly noteworthy. The medieval fabric is complemented by the 19th-century work of G.E. Street, making the church a building of high significance.