Monument record 130/3 - St James' Church (Site of)

Site of medieval church no longer extant, though stones in the churchyard are still visible.

{4}The chapel of St James was in existence by 1250-60, but it is likely to be somewhat earlier and may have been founded at the same time as the New Town. There was a Norman font in the chapel but this could of course have been brought from elsewhere at a later date. There is nothing of Norman construction described in the architectural descriptions, which suggest the structure was of early English and later construction. The chapel is visible on Tilleman’s view of the town in 1719 and 1721. The building was not particularly large: the nave was 57ft 7inches long and 25ft 2 inches wide, the aisles 12ft 4 inches wide and equal in length to the nave, the chancel with the south chapel was 32ft 11 inches long and each was 18 ft wide. The south aisle had lancet windows, the north perpendicular. Bridges describes it as having in 1720 two small aisles with a low coped tower on the north side of the west end, containing two bells. Leland describes it as ‘an old pece of worke, and on the south syde of the chaunsell of it is a faire chapell or isle, and there be in the wyndow sydes, in stone, imagis beringe woll sakks in theyr hands, in token that it was of the stapelers makyng.’ This is presumably the chantry chapel licensed in 1309 which was endowed with land to the value of £10 per annum by Thomas de Luton who is described elsewhere in 1317 as ‘a merchant of Brackley’ involved in the wool trade to the continent. According to Leland St. James’s was a chapel of ease to St. Peter’s. The chapel continued in use and by 1628 this area of the town had become known as St James End. Regular services were still held there in the 1720s but by the mid 18th century, reflecting the declining importance of this part of the town, the chapel was in difficulties for the vicar refused to give services there until in 1755 three closes of meadow were given to ensure three Sunday services a month. In the early 19th century services were still regularly held at the chapel, and at the Hospital chapel. The chapel, which is described by Baker was demolished in 1836 being replaced by a smaller building which was in turn demolished in 1938.

The site of the medieval rectory has not been located and it is likely that this will have lain close to the church, but none of the material so far recovered from the area would suggest the presence of the rectory. This issue requires further detailed documentary research on both rectory and vicarage.The area of the chapelry of St James can be recovered from the Inclosure and the mid 18th century maps with supporting evidence from earlier charters. In 1250-60 specific reference is made to a tenement lying in the Old Town in St. Peter’s parish and in 1251 to a tenement probably in the New Town which also lay in St. Peter’s parish. With the foundation of the New Town, or soon after, the original parish was divided with the establishment of a further chapelry, of St. James. Although both Halse and the Old Town lay wholly within St. Peter’s parish, the ecclesiastical division did not correspond to the borough and field system division, for in 1830 the northern half of the settlement area of the borough lay in St. Peter’s parish and the southern half in St. James’s, an approximately even division(for further details see report).

Although the mother church of St Peters lay in the Old Town, the chapel of St James served the south western half of the new town and was located at the eastern end of Castle Lane, facing the castle gate. The old town and the northern half of the new town, together with St John’s hospital, lay in the parish of St Peter’s, while the majority of the market place and the southern half of the new town, with the castle, lay in the parish of St James. This parochial division did not match the division of the field system into two parts, this boundary lying along the line of the Halse Lane and thuds matching far more closely the division between old town and new town.

{5} SP 5845 3646: St James's Church (Disused) (Not shown on 1890 6" but shown with graveyard on 1891 25")

{6}St James Church, Brackley In a dilapidated state of repair throughout 19th century Alfred Green notes that around the windows of the south side of the chancel were images in stone of men bearing woolsacks in their hands as a token that the woolstaplers had built the church.. The building was pulled down in 1836 and a chapel erected on the site for the performance of burial services. This too has been demolished and the area next to it is now an industrial estate. The graveyard, however, remains extant.

{8} Leland noted a church, the chapel of ease of St James, at the south end of the town (Brackley).

{9} Services were held in the church every Sunday in 1791.

{10} There are no remains of this church, nor could the foundation lines be traced. The graveyard is very overgrown but isolated stones are visible.

{11} Sketch of St James Chapel;


Description from record 130/3/3:
{1} A cross stood at the west end of St James' Church.

{2} According to Leland other crosses stood at both the southern entrance to the town and the west end of St James' Church.

<1> Green A., 1869, The History of Brackley, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN9026.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP53NE12 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<2> HEARNE T., 1744, Collectanea (Leland J.), p.36 (unchecked) (Series). SNN11786.

<2> Ballinger J.; Foard G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Brackley, Section 3.2.3 Crosses (unchecked) (Digital archive). SNN100499.

<3> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.151 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<4> Ballinger J.; Foard G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Brackley, Section 2.0, 3.2.2, 3.2.4 Vicarage & 3.2 Church (Digital archive). SNN100499.

<5> 1955, OS 6 INCH MAP, OS 6" 1955 (Map). SNN43653.

<6> Jarvis, E. (Ed.), 2010-12, Hindsight: The Journal of Northamptonshire Association of Local History, Issue 18 p.44 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN108377.

<7> , 1891, First Edition OS 25 Inch Mapping Series, (unchecked) (Map). SNN43658.

<8> Leland J., 1543, Itinerary (Series). SNN13988.

<9> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p. 151 (Book). SNN77325.

<10> Colquhoun, FD, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, F1 FDC 10-FEB-70 (Notes). SNN111540.

<11> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/25/36/1-12, 14-16, 18-22, 27, 30-35, 39-40, 42-49 (Archive). SNN115.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 7:53PM