St James' Church, Charfield

St James' Church, Charfield
St James' Church, Charfield, from the north
St James' Church, Charfield Location in Gloucestershire
Coordinates: 51°37′05″N 2°24′26″W / 51.6180°N 2.4073°W / 51.6180; -2.4073
OS grid reference	ST 718 911
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 is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Charfield, Gloucestershire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated 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]

History

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]

Architecture

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]

External features

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] and the war grave of a World War II airman.^[10]

See also

• List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in the English Midlands

References