Description

STONESFIELD THE CROSS
SP3917 (West side)
15/124 Church of St. James the Great
27/08/57

GV II*

Church. C13 with C14 alterations and belfry of tower added or rebuilt in the
C15. North aisle rebuilt in 1825 and church restored in 1876, probably including
the alteration of the north aisle and the addition of the south porch. Vestry of
1956. Coursed limestone rubble and squared and coursed limestone, partly cement
rendered, with ashlar dressings. Stone slate roofs. Two-bay nave with 2-bay
north aisle and lean-to south aisle with porch, 2-bay chancel with north chapel,
and west tower with C20 vestry in angle to north-west. Tower: 5 stages,
externally. Double-chamfered plinth, chamfered offset to second stage, moulded
string course to vestry, moulded parapet string with carved gargoyles, and
battlemented parapet with moulded coping. Weathervane to north-west. Louvred
(stone slates) belfry openings of 2 trefoil-headed lights with transoms,
quatrefoils in tracery, chamfered reveals and returned hood moulds. Pairs of
second-stage chamfered lancets to west and north and single lancets to south and
east. cls Tudor-arched west window to first stage of 4 cinquefoil-headed lights
with chamfered reveals and returned hood mould. Two-storey square stair tower to
south-east with lean-to roof, small rectangular windows and boarded door at base
with strap hinges. Clock on second stage to north, Nave: parapeted gable ends
with copings. Weathering to chancel on east wall. Pair of square C17
double-chamfered mullioned stone clerestory windows to south. Lean-to south
aisle with coped verges. C14 window to right of 2 cinqufoil-headed lights with
quatrefoil in tracery, moulded reveals and hood mould. Chamfered-arched south
doorway to left; C19 boarded door with decorative strap hinges. C19 stone porch
with chamfered archway and parapeted gable with shaped kneelers and cross at
apex. C19 chamfered rectangular west window to aisle and C14 east window of 2
ogee trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoil in tracery, chamfered reveals and
hood mould. North aisle: plinth and parapeted gable ends. Tall windows of 2
trefoil-headed lights with transoms, panelled tracery with quatrefoils and
returned hood moulds. West window of 2 round-arched lights with monolithic
semi-circular tympanum and returned hood mould. Chancel: plinth to east and
parapeted gable end with coping and cross at apex. C14 south windows of 2 ogee
trefoil-headed lights with reticulated tracery, chamfered reveals and returned
hood mould. C15 east window of 3 ogee cinqufoil-headed lights with panelled
tracery, hollow-chamfered reveals and returned hood mould. North chapel also
with plinth and parapeted gable end to east. C14 straight-headed north window of
ogee trefoil-headed lights and C19 chamfered-arched doorway to right with hood
mould and boarded door with strap hinges. Triple-chamfered lancets to east.
Flat-roofed vestry to north-west with double-chamfered plinth, coped parapet and
west window of 4 cinquefoil-headed lights with hollow-chamfered reveals and
returned hood mould, Interior: C19 three-bay nave roof consisting of collar and
tie-beam trusses with queen struts, raking struts and pairs of purlins. Two-bay
south aisle arcade consisting of central quatrefoil-section compound pier with
moulded base and capital, double-chamfered arches (continuous to the left) and
hood mould with carved stops. South aisle with painted C19 roof, chamfered rear
arch to east window, segmental rear arch to doorway and deeply-splayed reveals
to west window. Chamfered trefoil piscina to south-east. C13 triple-chamfered
tower arch, the inner chamfer springing from corbels, the middle chamfer dying
into responds and the outer chamfer continuous. Caernarvon-arched doorway to
stair tower. Large C19 opening to north aisle with double-chamfered reveals
(incorporating reused fabric from the former aisle) and wooden lintel. Three-bay
north aisle roof with king-post trusses and single purlins. Round archway to
vestry at west end. Ledge to east, west and north walls, formerly supporting
gallery (removed 1876). C13 chancel arch consisting of 3 orders of shafts with
stiff-leaf capitals and moulded bases, and triple hollow-chamfered arch. Chancel
with C19 scissor-braced turned-rafter roof. South windows with chamfered rear
arches and east window with hollow-chamfered rear arch. Ogee trefoil-arched
piscina to south-east with carved corbel supporting bowl. Blocked square north
window. North chapel has C15 low-pitched 2-bay roof with cambered tie-beam,
moulded ridge piece, subsidiary cross members and plain chamfered joists,
moulded wall plate and uncarved bosses. East lancets with clustered shafts
supporting double-chamfered rear arches, the centre are stilted. C14 north
window with C13 central shaft to rear supporting 2 hollow-chamfered arches. C13
double-chamfered arch between chapel and north aisle, the inner chamfer
springing from moulded corbel to south and with broach stop and moulded capital
to north, and the outer chamfer continuous. Continuous chamfered corbel to south
wall of chapel. Fittings: C20 communion rails with turned balusters. C15 two-bay
oak screen between chancel and chapel with chamfered timbers; large opening to
left has double hollow-chamfered reveals with broach stops, hollow-chamfered
Tudor-arched doorway to right, and cinquefoil headed openings above with pierced
tracery. Polygonal oak pulpit with round-arched panels, carved square panels
above, carved frieze and corners, and later stone base. C14 octagonal stone font
with chamfered base, moulded bowl and C19 wooden cover. Late C19 choir stalls
(in north aisle at time of survey - March 1987) and lectern. Fragments of C14
and C15 stained glass in the chancel windows and the west window of the tower;
C16 glass in clerestory window.
(Buildings of England: Oxfordshire: pp790-1; VCH: Oxfordshire: pp190-2; Kelly's
Directory of Oxfordshire: (1911), pp328-9)

Listing NGR: SP3934617094

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17531474

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

• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)