Church Of St James

The Church of St James is a parish church dating from the 12th century, with significant alterations made in 1730 and additions in 1837, followed by restoration in 1914 by J.H. Martindale. It is constructed of whitewashed rubble on a chamfered plinth and features a graduated greenslate roof with coped gables. The church has a three-bay nave with a west double bellcote and a single-bay chancel that includes a north vestry. The nave's west double doors are set within an 18th-century stone architrave that has a cornice. The north wall is medieval, while the south wall was rebuilt in 1730, and the west wall was refaced. The windows are diamond-paned and set in keyed round-headed arches, with surrounds that have shutter hinge brackets. The bellcote was rebuilt in 1914 and contains a bell of no particular interest. The chancel and vestry, added in 1837, have similar windows to those in the nave, except for a three-light east window in the Decorated style, likely from the medieval chancel. Inside, the church features a 1914 open timber roof. The west wall displays a plaque commemorating Thomas Thomlinson from 1803 and a painted arms board noting a gift from Thomas Cape in 1773. There is an 18th-century font resting on a medieval base and a late 15th-century depressed chancel arch. The chancel contains 19th and 20th-century wall plaques dedicated to the Gillbanks family of Whitefield House. Recesses in the east wall for pater and creed boards are now missing.