Parish Church of St Edmund Or St James
PARISH CHURCH OF ST EDMUND OR ST JAMES, PARK LANE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1321759
- Date first listed:
- 31-Oct-1966
- List Entry Name:
- Parish Church of St Edmund Or St James
- Statutory Address:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST EDMUND OR ST JAMES, PARK LANE
Have you got a photo to share?
Join the Missing Pieces Project. We want you to share your photos and memories.
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-04-29
- Reference:
- IOE01/02948/19
- Rights:
- © Mr Norman D Chappell. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1321759
- Date first listed:
- 31-Oct-1966
- List Entry Name:
- Parish Church of St Edmund Or St James
- Statutory Address 1:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST EDMUND OR ST JAMES, PARK LANE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST EDMUND OR ST JAMES, PARK LANE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Central Bedfordshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Blunham
- National Grid Reference:
- TL 15308 51104
Details
TL 1551 BLUNHAM PARK LANE
7/16 Parish Church of St 31.10.66 Edmund or St James
GV I
Parish Church. C12 to C16, with C19 work. Coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, mainly ironstone with some limestone. Chancel, N and S chapels, nave, N and S aisles, N and S porches, W tower. Chancel: rebuilt C13, has C19 3-light E window. C15 clerestory, with 3 3-light windows each side. N wall has pointed arch to W, blocked C14 window to E. S wall has 2 early C14 2- light windows, beneath E one a late C13 triple sedilia, under W one a C19 doorway. Doorway and late C15 stone screen onto S chapel. Line of earlier chancel roof visible above chancel arch. N chapel: C15, with 4-light N window and plain niche to E wall. NE angle rebuilt. S chapel: C15, with 5-light E window. Nave: C15, with 3-bay arcades to N and S. Clerestory, probably later C15, has 3 2-light windows each side. N aisle: C15 4-light W window under pointed arch. N doorway with 4-centred head, and 2 4-light windows to E of that, all late C15. N porch: C19, gabled with tiled roof. S aisle: S doorway has pointed arch within square head. Blocked doorway, originally serving parvis staircase. To E of this is 4-light window with pointed head, to W of door and to W elevations are 4-light windows with pointed heads. S porch: later C15, reaching to churchyard boundary, with archways to W and E. Plain parapet to chancel, embattled parapets to nave, aisles and chapels. W tower: 3 stages. Early C12, largely rebuilt C16. Blocked C12 round-headed window to N, and C12 round-headed arch onto nave with alternate voussoirs of limestone and ironstone. Rest is 1583 (2 datestones to W elevation). Clasping buttresses to NW and SW angles. Embattled parapet with pinnacles. 3-light windows to each side of bell-stage, and to W elevation 1st and 2nd stages. Interior: C15 plain octagonal font. circa 1340 recessed tomb in chancel, with cinquefoiled ogee arched canopy and large foliate finial. Brass in nave floor to Richard Maulaye, mercer, d.1506, and wife Alice. Tomb in chancel to Susanna Countess of Kent, d.1620, with alabaster effigy of herself and smaller ones of her 2 sons, under semicircular canopy. Various late C17 and C18 tombs to Bromsall family. Chancel has wall monument to Godfrey Thornton, d.1805, by J Bacon jnr, with tablet surmounted by obelisk and urn. Also in chancel is wall monument to Frances Thornton, d.1862, by Samuel Manning jnr, with kneeling woman by urn on pedestal. Chancel retains late C15 roof with carved bosses, including chained bear, griffin, and kneeling priest. C17 pulpit, with 2 tiers of arched panels. Tower arch retains C17 oak screen. John Donne, preacher and metaphysical poet, was Rector of Blunham 1621-31, at the same time as Dean of St Paul's.
Listing NGR: TL1530851104
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 37942
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 16:03:58.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.