Church of St James

Details

AUDLEY C. P. CHURCH STREET (east SJ 75 SE side)

4/5 Church of St. James

17.11.66

GV II*

Parish church. Circa 1300; restored and partially rebuilt in 1846 by Scott. Dressed sandstone; plain tile roof with coped verges. Entirely Decorated in style: West tower, 5-bay nave with side aisles; 3-bay chancel. West tower. 4 stages with angle buttresses; cavetto moulded belfry string, and moulded cornice to a plain parapet with crocketed finials. Pointed west door with ogee and wave mouldings. 3-light window above with segmental pointed arch, wave and roll-moulded surround, and Geometric tracery; the mullions are roll and fillet-moulded. The " tracery of the narrow pointed windows of the third stage has been partly destroyed but appears to have consisted of 2 trefoil headed lights with a foiled figure in the central spandrel. The larger belfry windows are similar in character. Nave and aisles. The stonework is mainly C19 including the clerestory which was added by Scott. This has sub- cusped quatrefoil windows, a hollowed string above containing square fleurons, and a low parapet with moulded spring. The South aisle has buttresses at the bay divisions and at the corners, the latter projecting diagonally. Square headed windows with quarter round-moulded openings and trefoil headed lights. The 2 eastern windows have ogee-headed lights and reticulated tracery whereas the 2 western windows are in a slightly earlier style. Pointed 3-light west window with early C14 style Decorated tracery, and a roll and fillet moulded dripstone with terminations carved as human heads. Pointed east-window in a late C13 style with 3 trefoil- headed lights, Geometric tracery, and roll and fillet moulded mullions. C14 north aisle, slightly later than the rest of the building. Buttresses at the bay divisions. 2-light windows with square heads, mainly C19 but one medieval window with ogee-headed lights survives, possibly mid to late C14. C19 door to the west. C19/C20 east and west windows. Chancel. Buttresses at the bay divisions and corners each with trefoil headed panels and a crenellated cresting; the north west buttress is partly obscured by the north aisle. Hollow moulded eaves cornice. Pointed 2-light north window with hollow and wave moulded surrounds and Geometric tracery; hood moulds with stops carved as human heads, and a scroll-moulded sill string. Beneath the north-west window is a segmental. pointed tomb recess with wave moulded surround, and at the east end of this side is a trefoil headed recess or stoup. The south side is much restored and has 3 pointed 2-light windows, a C19 pointed door and towards the east end another tomb recess. 7-light pointed east window of 1846 with Decorated tracery. Interior. Early C14 nave arcades: pointed arches of 2 chamfered orders on octagonal columns with moulded capitals. High pointed tower arch of 3 segment moulded orders. High pointed and chamfered chancel arch springing from imposts. C19 arch braced collar roofs over the nave with arch braced ridge piece. The main braces spring from stone corbels. C19 lean-to aisle roofs. The chancel has a similar roof to that of the nave and a hollow moulded corona with carved human heads and fleurons including ball flower. Well preserved sedilia and piscina with trefoiled heads, finials, crocketed ogee hoods, and scroll moulded string above terminated with carved heads. Flanking the east window are a pair Of image brackets with crocketed canopies. The sanctuary has C19 wall tiles with fleur de lys pattern and vine leaf frieze. Fittings. Squat octagonal font. C14. Monuments. In the chancel Sir John Delves. Later C14. Cusped and heavily moulded recess in the north wall of the chancel with crocketed hood and finials. Effigy of a knight, legs not crossed, his feet on a lion. Edward Vincent. Died 1622. Recumbant effigy. William and Anne Abnet, died 1628. Re-set brass. North aisle. Thomas and Mary Roylance. Early C18. Aedicule with fluted pilasters and broken pediment. John Cradock, died 1656. Chest tomb with black marble top and armorial engraving. Stained glass. East window by William Wailes. B.o.E. p.64.

Listing NGR: SJ7989450888

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

273283

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Staffordshire, (1974), 64

End of official list entry

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