Description

COLN ST DENNIS COLN ST DENNIS VILLAGE
SP 0810-0910
14/118 Church of St James
26.1.61

GV I

Anglican parish church. C12 and C15, restored 1890 by Waller and
in 1904 by William Weir. Coursed finely squared and dressed
limestone; stone slate roof. Chancel, nave with projecting central
tower. C12 nave with clasping buttresses at the west end. Nave
north wall: Perpendicular 2-light hollow-chamfered stone-mullioned
window with trefoil-headed lights and hood with carved head stops
to left of porch. C19 plank door within porch with C12 surround of
two orders with thin engaged jamb shafts with simple scalloped
capitals and a billeted hood mould. Billeted string at the west
end interrupted by a Perpendicular 3-light window. Nave south
wall: C14 two-light window with quatrefoil to right of C19 vestry
which obscures the C12 south door with plain tympanum and billeted
hood. Small round-headed C12 window with recessed surround to the
right of the latter. C15 parapet to nave. Central C12 three-stage
tower with C15 upper stage and projecting stairs at the south-west
corner and pilaster buttresses (strengthened on the east with
massive C15 buttresses with offsets). Tall trefoil-headed lancets
to the ground floor on the south side, to the right of a blocked
C12 priests' door with dressed stone lintel and a plain tympanum
and moulded hood. Single light with flat-chamfered surround and a
continuous dripmould to the belfry stage. String course and band
below. North side of tower: tall trefoil-headed lancet to the
ground floor; blocked 2-light belfry window formerly with two
round-headed openings with central jamb shaft. Battlemented C15
upper stage with 2-light trefoil-headed belfry windows with stone
slate louvres. C12 chancel with clasping buttresses; north and
south walls partially rebuilt reusing the C12 stonework; billeted
string at the east end; similar billeted strings at the same level
on the north and south (now set back into wall); traces of former
corbel table below. Pointed C14 2-light south window with tracery
and stepped hood. Three-light Perpendicular east window with
transom and stopped hood. Perpendicular 2-light rectangular north
window with stopped hood. Late Perpendicular north porch with tall
pointed hollowed-chamfered entrance with early plank door dated
1637, with fillets and strap hinges. Stepped coping and C19
Maltese cross finial to the chancel; flat coping and roll-cross
saddle to the porch.
Church interior: 4-bay nave; base of tower forms choir; single-bay
chancel. Restored Perpendicular roof to nave with braced chamfered
tie beams with fine reset C12 grotesque head corbels. Late C19-
early C20 panelled wagon roof to chancel (formerly vaulted - see
later). Flattened C12 west tower arch of two orders with engaged
jamb shafts with simple scalloped capitals. The east arch is
rebuilt with a Perpendicular pointed arch on C12 piers matching
those of the west tower arch. Early studded plank priests door
with strap hinges on the south side with plain tympanum and stopped
hood on the south side of the tower. The chancel has in each of
its four corners an engaged C12 shaft with a scalloped capital
indicating the former presence of a vaulted ceiling. Mutilated
round-headed piscina with roll moulding in the south wall of the
chancel. Chamfered string (interrupted by the base of the later
window) to the east wall of the chancel. C12 hood moulds over the
north and south doorways in the nave formerly continued around
nave. Coloured tile flooring to nave and chancel. Fixtures and
fittings: C12 tub-shaped font, chamfered at a later date into eight
roughly shaped scallops to fit an octagonal pedestal. C19 wooden
pews, pulpit, lectern, communion rail and altar table. Monuments
on nave north wall: oval marble tablet with heraldry to Benjamin
Kemp Bart, died 1777; grey marble monument to John Kirril, died
1762. Monuments on south wall: limestone monument on south wall of
nave to John Bridges, died 1679, and other members of that family
with bolection-moulded surround and cherub's head within a
segmental hood flanked by finials. North wall of chancel:
limestone monument to Joahne Burton daughter of Richard Burton,
died 1631 with moulded triangular pediment; limestone monument to
John House, died 1760, Mary House, died 1743 and other members of
that family with foliate marginal panels. Chancel: Three C18
ledgers (two set in floor) to members of the Hughes family. Three
small C19 tablets to members of the Price family in the splay of
the south window.
(David Verey, The Buildings of England: The Cotswolds, 1979; and
V.C.H. Vol. VIII, P32-33).

Listing NGR: SP0859210936

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Church of St James at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17525757

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

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  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
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  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
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