St James' Church, Charfield

St James' Church, Charfield

A stone church seen from the north with a central doorway surmounted by a pierced parapet, and to the right a battlemented tower

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic England, "Church of St James, Charfield (1321189)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 November 2013
  2. 1 2 3 4 St James' Church, Charfield, Gloucestershire, Churches Conservation Trust, retrieved 29 March 2011
  3. ↑ Historic England, "Chest tomb 6 yards southeast of chancel of St James' Church, Charfield (1114962)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 November 2013
  4. ↑ Historic England, "Chest tomb 10 yards southeast of priest's door of St James' Church, Charfield (1114963)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 November 2013
  5. ↑ Historic England, "Chest tomb 11 yards southeast of priest's door of St James' Church, Charfield (1321190)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 November 2013
  6. ↑ Historic England, "Chest tomb 12 yards southeast of priest's door of St James' Church, Charfield (1114964)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 November 2013
  7. ↑ Historic England, "Chest tomb 13 yards southeast of priest's door of St James' Church, Charfield (1321191)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 November 2013
  8. ↑ Historic England, "Group of 4 chest tombs 3 yards southwest of south door of St James' Church, Charfield (1114965)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 November 2013
  9. ↑ Mystery of train death children, BBC, 13 October 2008, retrieved 24 October 2010
  10. ↑ DAVIS, HERBERT PERCY, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 7 February 2013
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