Building record 0400500000 - Church of St James, High Street

Dimensions - Length 26m, Width 21m.
Plan Form - Cruciform.
Grade II+. Parish church. C14, aisles & porches C15, much restored twice C19, second time by Sir G G Scott, 1873-4. Course rubble stone, lead and tile roofs. W tower, nave, aisles, chancel, N chapel, C19 N vestry. Tower of 3 stages had battlemented parapet and octagonal turret to SW. 2-light traceried openings to bell chamber, 2 carved head gargoyles. Aisles have 2-light Decorated windows to W and 3-light Perpendicular windows to N and S, S aisle has 4 light-Perpendicular window to E. S doorway has moulded 2-centred arch on triple shafts with moulded caps and based, and porch with battlemented parapet. Chancel, chapel ad vestry have moulded eaves cornice. Chancel had restored Decorated windows with ogee and flowing tracery, one long 2-light and 2 3-light to S, 4-light to E. S door had moulded 2-centred arch. N chapel 2 2-light traceried windows. Interior: triple chamfered arch to tower, Nave of 4 bays with moulded arches octagonal piers with moulded caps. C15 roof with braced tie beams and traceried spandrels. N aisle had stop-chamfered ironstone arch to chapel and moulded impost band, with dentils. Cusped ogee niche with lower half of carved wooden figure. S aisle had cusped piscinia and much restored triple sedilia with crockets and finials E wall has stone carved head corbel, re-set. Fittings: C14 octagonal font, traceried panels, C15 screen with open traciered panels restored 18ft on fans, fragments of old glass ceramic rededos of crucifixon and saints. Monuments: small brass to Henry Upmore, priest, 1487; marble wall tablet to Richard Baker 1636 and wife, 1653 with broken pediment, sculls and grotesque mask heads; another tablet to Hugo Baker 1713 with cherubs, swags and cornice with urns and arms (B7).


Parish church of St. James, stands in the middle of the village, and has walls of yellow oolitic rubble, with dressings of similar stone. The roofs are covered with lead and with tiles. The earliest detail is that of the 13th century S. doorway, which has been reset, possibly from the original, aisleless nave; c.1340 the CHANCEL was rebuilt and a N. vestry was added or preparations were made for it; c.1360 the WEST TOWER was built or begun, and towards the end of the centurythe NORTH CHAPEL was added. In the 15th century the NORTH and SOUTH aisles were built, the nave was slightly widened towards the south; N. and S. porches were constructed, and the W. tower was completed or the upper stages were rebuilt. In the 19th century the church was twice restored, the second time in 1874, the NORTH VESTRY was built or rebuilt, the NORTH and SOUTH PORCHES were rebuilt and the N. Chapel, if not also rebuilt, was completely restored (B3).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.