Description

HAMSTERLEY HAMSTERLEY
NZ13SW
11/72 (inset) Church of St. James
14.9.66
GV I

Parish church. Mostly C13, incorporating C12 door; slightly later north
transept; C19 alterations (fragments in porch dated 1883) including restoration
of roof; panel over door 'Restored in 60th year. Rev. J.G. Milner 1884'.

Mixed stone rubble, much of it coarse sandstone, with gritstone quoins, ashlar
dressings, and plinth to transepts; Welsh slate roof with stone gable copings.
Cruciform with south porch. Gabled porch has open wide-chamfered pointed arch
on moulded imposts and irregular-block jambs. Early boarded inner door, with
strap hinges, in wide-chamfered round-headed surround under dripmould
continuous with impost blocks; half-pyramid chamfer stops. Sundial dated 1803,
and panel referring to 1884 restoration, in porch gable peak. Small cross-
incised grave cover as quoin in porch and 2 others as side bench; 2 others,
edges to outside, in chancel quoins. Priest's door in east wall of south
transept with incised grave slab as lintel. Protruding from west wall of south
transept a raised incised cross grave cover and a female effigy. Lancets,
partly restored, including 3 stepped east lights, except for large pointed-
arched north transept window of 3 elongated cusped lancets under head-
stopped dripmould, 3-light late C19 window in south nave, and single
rectangular chamfered west light under corbelled embattled bellcote.

Interior: limewashed plaster-with ashlar dressings; arch-braced chancel roof
on corbelled wall posts; nave and transepts have stone-corbelled tie beams
with 4 posts to collar. 2-centred chancel arch on nutmeg-moulded imposts, and
wide 2-centred transept arches, all chamfered, the north arch renewed.
Internal quoins at north-east angle of nave. Chancel has blocked north window
with trefoil head; similar heads to south transept windows. Trefoil-headed
piscina with nail-head moulding, and fluted bowl; similar modern piscina in
transept; aumbries in chancel and south transept. Several medieval incised
grave covers set in wall plaster. Bowl font an roll-moulded pedestal. East
window by L.C. Evetts. Part of box pew surviving in north transept. Gothic-
style pulpit, c. 1880, with panels formed by Minton tiles, signed Moyr Smith,
showing scenes from Bible and from Pilgrims Progress. Funeral hatchment in
nave.

Listing NGR: NZ1272930897

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17529947

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

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)