Church Of St James

The Church of St James is a Grade I listed building constructed between 1856 and 1858 by architect William Butterfield for Viscount Downe of Baldersby Park. It is built from snecked stone with ashlar details and features a red tile roof, with lead covering the north aisle and vestry. This church is designed in a High Victorian style and includes a west tower, a five-bay aisled nave with a south porch, and a two-bay unaisled lower chancel.

The three-stage west tower has banded masonry and is topped with a spire that includes lucarnes. The nave is adorned with two-light Early English style windows, round windows at the west end of the aisles, and a vesica-shaped east window in the south aisle. The chancel features Early English style windows and a three-light geometrical east window with a cinquefoil motif in three roundels.

Inside, the nave has quatrefoil piers with fillets and bell capitals, with brick walls accented by ashlar bands and inlaid circular motifs. The chancel arch is supported by attached columns, and there is a low, pierced stone screen. Butterfield's original decorative scheme and fittings are largely intact, including inlaid floor tiles, red-veined alabaster sanctuary walls, a painted chancel roof, wrought iron corona lucis, and screens. The font is made of inlaid marble and features a tall spire-like cover suspended from iron rods, with a counter-weight shaped like a dove.