Description

ST 67 NE WESTERLEIGH C.P. CHURCH ROAD (south side)

4/320 Church of St. James the Great

G.V. I

Parish church. C13 origin (north side of nave), largely rebuilt C15, C17 and C18
alterations, chancel rebuilt 1879-81 by Ewan Christian, restored 1896 by Sedding.
Pennant rubble, tower in squared rubble with limestone freestone quoins and
chequers, stone dressings, stone tiled roofs with raised coped verges and cross
finials to gables. West tower, nave, north porch, south aisle, chancel. North
side of nave has Early English door and window, Perpendicular style. 3-stage
tower has west door with pointed arch, with 2 wave-moulded orders and hood mould,
3-light Perpendicular window above with hood mould and relieving arch, 2nd stage
north has small trefoil-headed window with pierced wooden shutters and hood mould,
clock, 3rd stage all sides 3-light Perpendicular window, with pierced stone
tracery in central light, pierced wooden shutters to outer lights, hood mould and
relieving arch, polygonal stair turret to north east, diagonal buttresses, moulded
string courses, embattled parapet with pierced stone tracery, fine gargoyles with
rainwater chutes, pinnacles to corners and centrally to sides, turret has gargoyles,
tall parapet, crocketed pinnacles and spirelet with weathervane. 4-bay nave has
to north 3-light Perpendicular window with flat head and hood mould, C19 3-light
pointed arched window with mask stops to hood mould, 3-light Early English window
with trefoil heads to lights, flat head and hood mould; 2nd bay from right has
north porch with fine studded door with pointed arch and hood mould, image niche
above, 2-light trefoil-headed window to each side. 5-bay south aisle has tall
west lancet, angle buttresses, buttresses to south, two 3-light windows with
trefoil heads and hood mould, door with pointed chamfered arch between, C17
4-light window with ovolo mullions and king mullion, segmental heads to lights and
hood mould, to right a pointed arched C13 priest's door and 3-light Perpendicular
window; 3-light east window in late C13 style but not authentic. Chancel has
3-light east window, and two 3-light windows to north, all with hood mould with
mask stops, rainwater head dated 1879. Interior: tower has fine framed ceiling
with heavy moulded and stopped beams, upright members to right and left of door
with scrolled carved tops, panelled screen to east with moulded and stopped jambs
to frame, segmental inner arch with door, inscription recording installation of
screen by William Prigge and Thomas Rudge, churchwardens, 1638; small triangular-
headed door to turret, of one plank of wood, studded. Nave has upper west window
with pointed arch to tower, lower section closed by C18 panelling for rear of west
gallery, which has diamond-panelled front, fluted pilasters and modillion cornice.
5-bay south arcade of octagonal piers, pointed arches with 2 chamfered orders,
richly carved image niche in spandrel over pier in nave; pointed arched north
window has slender jamb shafts and hood mould; wagon roof with brattished wall-
plate, moulded collar purlin and carved bosses, mostly C19 restoration. Fine
pointed arched door to north porch door has heavy batten, decorative ironwork with
fleur-de-lys strap hinges to outer side, porch has benches to sides, arched-brace
and collar roof with moulded collar purlin, outer doorway has slender free-standing
jamb shafts with moulded capitals, roll-moulded pointed arched head to door, hood
mould with mask stops. South aisle has pointed arch to east chapel, slightly
lower arcade of 2 bays between chapel and chancel, with C19 low stone screen,
pointed chancel arch with C19 rebuilding of squint to right, C15 triple sedilia to
right, chancel and aisle have roof as in nave. Fittings: C17 Norman revival
font in nave; C15 vase shaped and panelled pulpit in nave with foliated heads to
panels; unusually large Royal Arms of George II in aisle; 2 hatchments in nave
recording benefactors of church; large piece of timber in nave with raised
carving, the name Thomas Roberdes, probably one of the C17 Lords of the Manor.
Monuments in aisle: stone tablet with pilasters, broken pediment and shield, to
Mary Jones, 1661, with brass plate to same; stone tablet with scrolled pediment
and shield, to Thomas Roberts, 1673, and brass plate to Thomas Roberts, 1655;
brass plate with Latin inscription to Richard Hollister, 1659; classical marble
tablet, to Edward Clent, 1735; stone monument with oval panel, draped curtains,
cherub, partly painted gold, 1723, dedication illegible; stone tablet with draped
curtains and cherubs, to Elias Dolling, 1728. Fragments of mediaeval glass in
upper tracery of Perpendicular window in north nave. (Sources: Verey, D. :
Buildings of England Gloucestershire : The Vale and The Forest of Dean. 1970).

Listing NGR: ST6995479654

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17530324

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)