St James, Great Saling

St James, Great Saling, Essex CM7 5DT

Parish church set adjacent to Great Saling Hall. The two seem to form the archetypal ancient relationship of Manor House and Church. The list description for the church says that the C19 restoration (1857) obscures most of the dating details, and the church is almost certainly much earlier than this. There are intriguing relationships in the alignment of tower, nave and chancel that suggest a longer period of evolution, and one particular detail in the southwest nave quoins. One of these is a tall, slender stone set vertically, and might be a reused survivor of “long and short” Saxon quoins. It is entirely uncharacteristic of later mediaeval masonry.

Opening Arrangements

Please look at the place of worship’s website for opening times or contact them directly.