Church Of St James

The Church of St James is an Anglican parish church with origins dating back to the 12th or 13th century, largely rebuilt in the 15th century, and restored in 1863 by S.B. Gabriel of Bristol. It is constructed of rubble stone and ashlar with stone slate roofs and coped gables. The church features a three-stage ashlar west tower with dripcourses, pointed two-light bell openings, an embattled parapet, and small angle pinnacles. The tower has a mutilated west window with a single centre mullion. The south aisle is ashlar with gabled ends, cross finials, diagonal buttresses, a two-light four-centred end window, and two flat-headed three-light south windows. The south porch has a rebuilt front wall and roof dating to 1863, and a moulded pointed inner door. The north side of the nave incorporates rubble stone and late 17th or early 18th century long mullioned windows, including a two-light window in a moulded architrave, a small blocked round-arched doorway, possibly from the 12th century, a two-light window, and a three-light recessed mullion window with a hoodmould. The chancel has a rubble stone east wall with a large Perpendicular five-light pointed east window, a plain roughcast south wall, and a 1863 north vestry. There is a dip in the roofline between the nave and chancel.

Internally, the church showcases a three-bay 15th-century south arcade with four-centred arches on octagonal piers. The nave has a plastered roof with three tie-beams and the south aisle roof appears to be constructed of re-used timbers. A large nave west gallery from 1840 stands on two iron columns with a Gothic panelled front, and is said to incorporate 15th-century bench ends. The church includes an 1863 stone pulpit and a low stone screen with ornate iron gates. The 1863 chancel roof is ornate with pine trusses resting on stone angel corbels. The east window features curious shafting, potentially from the 14th century, and carved rosettes are present in the hoodmould, likely dating to the 14th or 15th century, with the stonework possibly being re-used. Stained glass from 1931 is also present. The vestry screen is said to be a copy of a former chancel screen. Notable fittings include an octagonal stone font, possibly retooled from the 15th century, a rare brass chandelier from around 1700, originally from Calne church, 1863 stalls and benches, and a 1931 oak reredos. Cherhill served as a chapel of Calne until the 19th century. The earliest documented reference is to funds left for repairs in 1267.