St. James Church is very ancient and no one knows quite when it was first founded. It was certainly here in its present position by the 11th century when it was granted a charter giving it a right for people to be buried in the churchyard.
The oldest part of St.James’s church is the tower with its lead-covered, broached spire which has been dated by the distinctive style of the joints in the oak timbers that support the spire to about 1310 A.D. The tower is 90 feet in height and is one of only three such spires existing in Devon. Since 1882 the tower has a peal of 6 six bells. There have been many additions and alterations over the years and in the 15th century, or Perpendicular Period, the church was almost entirely rebuilt.
On entering the church visitors are always struck by beauty of the interior. The carved oak woodwork seen in the pews, fonts, roof-beams and especially in the handsome screen which spans the whole width of the church is of a very high quality.
There are many remarkable features in St. James, not the least being the 15th century stone pulpit and also the wonderful marble and alabaster carved work behind the altar at the eastern end of the church. Visitors to St. James will find that this beautiful gem of an English country Church is open each day from 9am until 4pm. The only exceptions to this general rule being when services are due to take place and then access may be restricted. A telephone call to Rev. Peter Bowers (01271 830068) or an email to revpebo@hotmail.com will guard against a wasted journey being made, though please try and give good notice of an important visit.
Within St. James Church visitors will find:
Detailed guide-books and post-cards for sale. There is also a alphabetical guide to the names inscribed on the gravestones to help locate the burial place of those graves within the churchyard. The Parish Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials date back to 1562 and copies of these are kept on microfiche files in North Devon Records Office (01271 388593) to which all enquiries about early records should be made.
Peter Bowers was installed as a Prebendary of the College of Canons of Exeter Cathedral on 28 June 2007
John Hayes has kindly sent in some photos. See below
The photos were taken at Harry Ramsden's, Exeter Services where the parishioners from Swimbridge, West Buckland and Landkey had a fish and chip supper. We were on the way back from Exeter Cathedral where our Rector, Peter Bowers, had been installed as a Prebendary of the College of Canons of the Cathedral on Thursday 28th June.
