Chapel Of St James The Great

Chapel of St James the Great

This chapel-of-ease, formerly attached to Bishops Cleeve, is a small church with a nave probably built around 1170 and a chancel dating from the 14th century. It stands at Stoke Orchard Village.

The exterior walls are constructed of mixed dressed limestone and limestone rubble, with rendering applied to the west end and south wall. The chancel is built of coursed squared and dressed limestone with blue lias, with parts of the north and south walls rendered. The roof is stone slate. The east end was probably rebuilt in the 19th century.

The north and south walls of the nave are buttressed, with 14th-century buttressing evident on the north wall. A 19th-century plank door with decorative early strap hinges featuring animal head decoration sits within a roll-moulded 12th-century round-headed surround. Single small 12th-century round-headed windows flank this door, with a buttress to the left also featuring a similar round-headed window. A single round-headed window is at the centre of the west end. The south wall contains a 14th-century buttress towards the chancel, two narrow 12th-century round-headed windows flanking the south door, and two-light double-chamfered stone-mullioned casements with rectangular leaded panes towards the west end. An early studded plank door on the south wall is set within a rectangular flat-chamfered surround with a plain tympanum and hollow-moulded hood with curving stop.

The chancel north wall contains one two-light stone-mullioned casement and one 14th-century two-light stone-mullioned casement, both with cusped heads and carved spandrels to each light. A pointed Perpendicular east window with a quatrefoil and a single 14th-century light with cusped head are also present. All windows are fitted with diamond leaded panes. A 14th-century bellcote with a single bell hangs at the east end of the nave. Stepped coping appears at the east ends of both nave and chancel, with flat coping and roll cross saddle at the west end of the nave.

The interior is plastered throughout. The nave comprises four bays of varying width with a plastered coved ceiling dated and initialled 'I.E. 1723' towards the west end. The chancel has a plastered pointed ceiling and red brick floor, whilst the nave is laid with stone flags. A 13th-century pointed double-chamfered chancel arch stands on plain engaged semi-circular 12th-century responds with scalloped capitals. A semi-circular headed piscina reputed to be 12th-century appears in the south wall of the chancel, and a trefoil-headed piscina, probably from the 14th century, is in the south wall of the nave.

Furnishings include a fine 12th-century circular limestone font with intersecting blind arcading in relief towards the west end of the nave, heavy-pegged oak pews possibly from the 18th century, a 17th-century octagonal pulpit with incised scrollwork, a 19th-century carved wooden lectern, an 18th-century communion rail with simple turned balusters, and a 17th-century carved oak chest with lozenge decoration set in front of the north door. A simple wooden altar table, possibly 17th-century, features turned legs.

The walls of the nave are covered with wall paintings of five different periods. The most significant is the earliest scheme, comprising a cycle of 28 scenes representing the life of St James of Compostella in fragmentary condition, dating from between circa 1190 and 1220. This cycle was restored in preference to later paintings in 1953–1955. It runs around the nave at window height with wide decorative borders at top and bottom. The lower border displays a running foliate motif incorporating stylised animals with ribbon-like bodies. The upper border is similar but includes interlace. These motifs relate to the Herefordshire School of sculpture, as best illustrated at Kilpeck, drawing from a wide variety of sources.

Later painting phases include a small probably 15th-century diaper of fleur-de-lys in yellow-red over the upper part of the chancel arch. Drapery on the south wall just west of the two-light window probably represents a large 15th-century figure standing against a stencil-painted brocade diaper. Further west are two very large crudely drawn feet, probably remnants of a 15th-century representation of St Christopher. Fragmentary remains of a 16th-century black letter text in a classical frame survives west of the two-light window on the nave south wall. During the 17th century all windows were given decorative borders comprising trellis interlace and guilloche patterns, fragments of which survive. The crowned rose over the north door also dates from this period. During the 18th century an extensive series of texts in various frames were painted on the north, east and south walls of the nave, including a text with an oval rayed frame on the south wall. The Royal Arms over the chancel arch was updated with Hanoverian heraldry. Figures of Death and Time on the west wall, now largely removed to reveal the St James cycle, also date from this period.

The cycle of the life of St James of Compostella is the only one of its kind in England.