Church Of St James

The Church of St James is a parish church located in Abbots Bickington, dating from around 1300 and restored in 1868. It features stone rubble walls and a gable-ended slate roof. The church's layout includes a nave, chancel, south transept, and a west tower, all likely constructed around the same time, with the north porch possibly being slightly later. The church was restored and reseated in 1863.

The exterior showcases a low west tower topped with a dwarf pyramidal roof and battlements, lacking buttresses or a west doorway. It has small pointed belfry openings on the north and south sides. On the south side, there are two windows—one for the nave and one for the transept—both with two lights and simple Decorated tracery. The east window, dating from the 15th century, features two cinquefoiled lights. The north and south walls of the chancel have simple trefoiled lancets from around 1300, while the nave has a similar window from the 19th century on its north wall. The gabled north porch has a chamfered two-centred arch doorway.

Inside, there is a 14th-century south doorway that is chamfered and features a panelled door from the 17th or 18th century. The chancel walls are plastered, while the other internal walls are rendered. There is no chancel or tower arch, but there is an unmoulded plastered pointed arch leading to the transept. The chancel is topped with an old wagon roof that has moulded ribs and carved bosses, while the rest of the church features a 19th-century arch-braced and crown post roof. The chancel floor is adorned with medieval Barnstaple tiles, some displaying a fleur-de-lys motif. In the south chancel wall is an original piscina with a trefoiled head. The fittings throughout are entirely from the 19th century.

A notable memorial in the northeast corner of the chancel commemorates Thomas Pollard, who died in 1710. This memorial is a nowy headed slate plaque flanked by Corinthian columns and topped with a scrolled pediment featuring an armorial shield at the centre and a large figure of a kneeling angel to the left, with swags of flowers and fruit at the base. The east window contains fragmented pieces of medieval glass depicting various saints and the crucifixion of Christ. The Church of St James is an unspoilt example of a small early church, modest in size yet rich in interesting features and possessing a picturesque appearance.