| St James' Church, Charfield | |
St James' Church, Charfield, from the north
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St James' Church, Charfield
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| OS grid reference | ST 718 911 |
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| Location | Charfield, Gloucestershire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 30 March 1960 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 13th century |
| Completed | 15th century |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Stone with Cotswold stone slate roofs |
St James' Church, Charfield, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Charfield, Gloucestershire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building,[1] and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2] It stands on a steep hillside overlooking a valley.[2]
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The church originates from the 13th century.[1] It was largely rebuilt in the 15th century, using money from the local wool trade. During the 18th century the industry moved into the valley, isolating the church.[2] It was repaired during the 1970s.[1]
St James' is constructed in stone rubble, with Cotswold stone slate roofs. Its plan consists of a nave with a south aisle and a north porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower is in four stages with diagonal buttresses. In the top stage are two-light bell openings, and the parapet is battlemented.[1] On top of the tower is a saddleback roof.[2] In the north wall of the nave are two three-light windows, between which is a porch with a pierced parapet and a niche for a statue. The chancel contains two three-light windows in the north wall, a three-light east window, and a blocked priest's door. Along the wall of the south aisle are three three-light windows.[1]
Internally, between the nave and the south aisle is a three-bay arcade with octagonal piers. In the nave is a squint. The chancel contains a trefoil-headed piscina and the remains of heads to image niches. There are memorials dated 1717 and 1756.[1]
The churchyard contains five separate chest tombs, and a group of four chest tombs, all of which are designated as Grade II listed buildings. They all date from the 18th century and are in limestone ashlar.[3][4][5][6][7] The group of four tombs date from the same period and are surrounded by cast iron railings.[8] Also in the churchyard is a memorial to the 15 people who were killed in the Charfield railway disaster in 1928.[9]