Church of St James

The Church of St. James is a Grade II* listed building located in Brightwell cum Sotwell. It was constructed around 1884 by architect S.R. Stevenson, who reused a 14th-century roof structure. The church is built of squared coursed stone with ashlar stone dressings and features an old plain-tile roof, with wood shingles on the spire.

The design includes a continuous nave and chancel, along with a west bellcote. The entrance has a plank door with wrought iron hinges and an open timber-framed porch that has tinted leaded lights on the sides. The front facade showcases two single-light lancets in the Perpendicular style at the center, with a paired Perpendicular lancet to the right, which has a hood mould. On the left side, there is a three-light Perpendicular stone mullion window with a hood mould.

The left return features late 19th-century timber framing at the gable end with roughcast infill. The bellcote has a square louvred base and a splay-footed spire. The rear of the church includes a resited 15th-century paired lancet window to the left, a 19th-century single lancet in the center, and a paired lancet to the right. There is also a 15th-century reset single lancet in the center with a 19th-century head, and a 12th-century reset blind round-topped lancet to the right. Additionally, part of a 13th-century "penitents" doorway is reset to the right. The right side features a three-light window with rectilinear tracery.

Inside, the church boasts a 14th-century arched-braced roof with seven bays and two tiers of wind braces. A 16th-century pulpit, originally from the Church of St. Mary-le-More in Wallingford, is also present. The church was rebuilt on its original site in 1884, under the supervision of J. Oldrid Scott, with the roof raised by leverage, as noted in the guidebook "St. James, Sotwell 1884-1984."