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

• Wikidata Q17531474

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Recommended Books

• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)