The Parish Church Of St James

The Parish Church of St James is a parish church located in Stedham with Iping. The tower, dated 1673, is the only part that remains from the earlier church, which dated back to 1040. The current structure was built in 1850 by Joseph Butler of Chichester in a Gothic style. It is constructed from Hythe sandstone, featuring a shingled roof on the tower and a tiled roof for the rest of the building.

The church has a southeast tower, a four-bay nave with a north aisle and a south porch, and a two-bay chancel with an organ chamber to the south. The southeast tower consists of three stages, with galleting and tapering at the top, topped by a shingled spire and weathervane. The south side of the tower includes stone mullioned windows, while the east and west sides have arched openings, with a 17th-century studded plank door on the west side. The nave features lancet windows and a gabled south porch with carved bargeboards. The south wall incorporates three stones adorned with crosses from the earlier church.

Inside, the tower has a beam with a two-inch chamfer and lambs tongue stops. It houses three bells from 1618, 1719, 1741, and one from 1897. The nave includes a south arcade with pointed arches on circular columns with plain mouldings, and a kingpost-type roof. There is a circular stone font, a hexagonal pulpit, and box pews. Notable interior features include a wall monument to Rev. Thomas Wrench, who died in 1778, featuring a draped urn with two oval medallions, a Vitruvian scroll, and a central plaque with a blank oval. There is also a tablet to Richard Ayling, who died in 1785, designed as an obelisk with an oval plaque framed by wheat ear drops and palm fronds, and a ceramic plaque to Robert Cooke Brill, Rector, who died in 1917. The church contains late 19th-century stained glass and one grisaille panel. The chancel features carved choir stalls and communion rails with a trefoil pattern. The 1850 church is not considered of special interest.