Church Of St James

FRETHERNE WITH SAUL CHURCH LANE SO 70 NW (north side) 5/161 Church of St. James 10.1.55 GV II* Anglican parish church. Said to date from 1140, part of chancel possibly C14, tower and nave windows Perpendicular of late C15/early C16. Altered and enlarged in 1856 and restored 1863-5 by T. Fulljames. North aisle and nave arcade added during C19 work, exact date uncertain. Random coursed dressed stone to nave on chamfered plinth, ashlar tower, chancel and north aisle. Stone slate roof to nave and south side of chancel, remainder in interlocking concrete tiles, with coped verges, cross finials and end saddlestones, and stiff leaf eaves cornice to chancel. West tower, nave with south porch and north aisle, chancel with north transept (vestry). Tower of 2 stages with string courses on moulded plinth, stepped diagonal buttresses to part of lower stage, embattled parapet, 2-light trefoil head stone belfry louvres to each face of upper stage. West side has small chamfered 3-centred archway, with deeply splayed double trefoil-head light over and small single light below first string course, clockface dated 1887 above string course. On south side, nave has 3-light Perpendicular windows flanking small C19 open timber-work gabled porch, chancel has paired trefoil-head lancets flanking trefoil-head priest's door. North aisle has similar paired or triple trefoil-head lancets. Three-light east window. Interior: nave has 4-bay arcade to north aisle which has plain rafter roof meeting piers with pierced trefoils set into angles. Wagon roof to nave, arcade with cylindrical columns and water- holding bases. Chancel roof of 2 bays with arched-braced principals on carved stone corbels. Chancel arch has 2 elaborate corbels with 2 very small marble columns over. Elaborate stone screen to tower with cusped central archway and flanking stone seats, probably of C19. Reredos in Caen stone of 1883, brought from St Michael's, Gloucester, by H.C. and W.S. Frith. Norman font. Jacobean pulpit. (David Verey, Buildings of England: Gloucestershire, the Vale and the Forest of Dean, 1980; VCH, Gloucestershire, Vol X, 1972)

Listing NGR: SO7491109320