Church Of St James

ST12NW HALSE CP

6/150 Church of St James

25.2.55

GV I

Parish Church. Some C12 and C13 work, mainly C15, North aisle circa 1546 restored 1900. Red sandstone random rubble, Ham stone dressings, moulded plinth, C19 tiled roofs. Four bay nave, three bay North aisle, South porch, West tower. Two stage tower, crenellated parapet, diagonal buttresses, damaged on South-west corner, 3-light window West end and 2-light Decorated bell-openings. Four light Perpendicular window in chancel and East and West ends of North aisle. North front three 3-light mullioned windows with Tudor heads under hood moulds, 2-light cinquefoil mullions flanking South porch. Rood loft stair tower on North front. Gabled tiled roof porch, late C15, with 3-light Perpendicular windows perhaps reused. Interior: rendered. Arcade of Perpendicular piers set on roughly hewn plinths with primitive Decorated capitals. Norman arch South door, C13 chancel arch and single chamfer tower arch. Wagon roofs, plastered except in nave. East window contains mid C16 painted Flemish glass incorporated late C19. Chancel painted decoration, 1900, partly obliterated. Fine wooden screen circa 1500, restored 1900 by Harry Hems of Exeter. Norman font. Pews carved by villagers in the local wood working class, 1900. Two rondels set in spandrels of North aisle nave wall, right-hand one has face with foliage sprouting from it, thought to be circa 1300. On West wall, pair of late C16 Italian oil paintings, cut from larger work, artist unknown. Until 1867, or later, the exterior was plastered and whitewashed. (SANHS Proceedings, vol 54, 1908; photographs in NMR, vol 5 forthcoming).

Listing NGR: ST1399627741