Parish Church Of St James

The Parish Church of St James is an Anglican parish church located in Milton Abbas, dating from around 1786, likely designed by James Wyatt. The church underwent modifications around 1886, including the addition of a south aisle and vestry, as well as the enlargement of the chancel, by W J Fletcher.

The church features ashlar stone walls with a simple plinth, while the aisle and vestry are constructed with stone and flint banding. The roofs of the nave and aisle are slated, and the chancel roof is tiled with a crested ridge, all topped with coped gables. The structure includes a nave, chancel, south vestry, and a south aisle with three bays, along with a west tower.

The tower consists of three stages, topped with a battlemented parapet and corner pinnacles. Each stage has moulded string courses, and the belfry contains two-light windows with Y-tracery in the lower sections, which are louvred. The middle stage features a clock on the north face and a quatrefoil panel on the west face. The lowest stage has a two-light window with Y-tracery on the north face. The west door is pointed-arched and set in a square frame, adorned with coats of arms in the spandrels. The north wall of the nave has three three-light windows with intersecting tracery, while the north wall of the chancel includes one two-light window with Y-tracery and one trefoiled lancet. The east window of the chancel is a three-light window with geometrical tracery, and the south wall of the chancel has one trefoiled lancet. The south aisle features three three-light square-headed windows with trefoiled lights, and there is a four-centred arched doorway leading to the vestry.

Inside, the walls are plastered. The chancel has a 19th-century arch-braced collar beam roof, while the nave boasts a 19th-century hammer-beam roof. The aisle has a simple lean-to roof. The south arcade is characterized by moulded arches and circular columns with capitals left rough for carving. The chancel arch features continuous mouldings without capitals or imposts. The font, likely from the 13th century, is octagonal and rests on a pier with detached shafts. The pulpit dates from the late 18th century, and there is a marble charity tablet from 1844 on the west wall of the nave. The east window was created by Laurence Lee between 1969 and 1970.