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Summary

St James's Church in Avonwick was built in the 19th century as a private chapel on the Black Hall estate

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1216452: CHURCH OF ST JAMES

Other References/Statuses

• Church of England HER: 5447
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX75NW/19
• Old Listed Building Ref (II)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CHAPEL (XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Unknown, 1978, Untitled Source (Article in Serial). SDV340758.

St James Church in Avonwick. Private chapel officially, a foundation much commoner in earlier centuries. Not many have survived so effectively as St James which acts as the church for the local community. Celebrated its centenary on 30th July 1978. Other details: Scrapbook 4.

Department of Environment, 1993, North Huish (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV340735.

Church of St James in Avonwick is a chapel on the Black Hall estate. Built in 1878 by R Medley Fulford for Frederick James Cornish-Bowden of Black Hall in memory of James Cornish, his father. Dressed snecked shale with bands of pink ashlar, some slate hanging, timber and ironstone windows. Slate roof with crested ridge tiles. Plan: Nave and chancel in one with a vestry on the south side of the nave incorporating a porch to the south doorway; on the north side of the chancel a projecting organ chamber. All of one build in 1878. Situated on a north east-south west axis with the liturgical east at the north east end. Exterior: The steeply pitched roof over the whole church has exposed rafter ends under the eaves and exposed purlin ends on brackets at the west gable end; at the east end the gable has a coped parapet with an Iona cross at the apex. The roof is carried down over the organ chamber on the north side of the chancel and swept down over the vestry on the south side of the nave. The vestry incorporates an open timber porch in its west angle to the south doorway; the porch has a small gable over the entrance on its west side. The base of the walls all round the church including the porch are slightly battered. The west end of the south wall of the nave to the left of the porch has shallow buttresses and their set offs have slate weathering. Between the buttresses the walls have fishscale patterned slate hanging and slate weathered cills to the 1 and 2-light timber windows which have straight heads and cusped lights with leaded panes. The north windows are all similar and are also set in slate handing with deep slate weathered cills between shallow buttresses. The 4-light west window is also timbe but has a depressed 2-centred arch and cusped lights. The vestry windows are also timber with similarly cusped lights. The chancel has stone window frames and a moulded string course which continues around the weathered diagonal corner buttresses and rises to the cill of the 3 cusped lancet lights of the east window which are contained within a hoodmould; above the east window a small cusped lancet ventilation slit with a transom, and below the east window the stringcourse rises over 3 crosses depicted in pink stone in the masonry. The stringcourse on the south side of the chancel rises to the higher cill level of the 2 cusped lancets to the east and the 2 lights of the chancel's south window to the west are uncusped. Over the roof between the nave and chancel a bell turret with slated louvres below the open timber bell stage and a slated spire with sprocketted eaves; the lead flashing at the top of the spire is bent over into scrolls and there is an iron Jerusalem cross at the apex. Interior: Nave and chancel in one except that the roof trusses over the screen are coupled to form a ceilure. The roof trusses are arch braced with hammerbeams on stone corbels; the spandrels of the arch braces over the chancel are pierced and the coupled trusses over the screen have a frame above the collar which supports the belfry on the roof. The timber screen by H Hems has cusped arches and a brattiched top rail with a cross at the centre; its wainscot is pierced and incorporates a pulpit on the north side with pierced sides, a brattished top rail and a tiled base. The wall plates in the nave are carried over the window recesses on timber braces supported on corbels. The nave walls are plastered and have a vertical boarded dado; the chancel walls are whitewashed brick. The crenellated timber reredos has a canopied niche and the altar table is original. The low sill of the south window of the chancel forms a sedilia and on the north wall the cusped ambry has a shelf supported on a bracket. The moulded wooden altar rail has turned posts and pierced spandrels. The organ set in an organ chamber on the north side of the chancel has a fretwork frieze. The choir stalls are original and well designed. The chancel floor has patterned quarry tiles, it is at higher level then the nave and stepped up again to the altar. Ornate wrought iron brass lectern. Simple but well designed benches in the nave with curved inverted Y-shape ends. Small octagonal font has a marble stem and moulded base. Original Gothic style panelled south door and vestry door. Brass plaque on the south wall of the chancel states that the church was built in memory of James Cornish of Black Hall who died as a result of falling from his horse nearby. Stained glass east window. The other windows have only stained glass margin panes but the chancel south windows have flowers in the window heads. Other details: LBS No 101374.

Cotswold Archaeology, 2001, Fishacre to Lyneham Natural Gas Pipeline: Archaeological Fieldwalking and Field Reconnaissance Survey: Preliminary Summary, Map 6 (Report - Survey). SDV340217.

Cotswold Archaeology, 2001, Fishacre to Lyneham Natural Gas Pipeline: Cultural Heritage Assessment: Volume 1:Text, 28 (Report - Assessment). SDV340215.

Other details: Site 74.

Cotswold Archaeology, 2001, Fishacre to Lyneham Natural Gas Pipeline: Cultural Heritage Assessment: Volume 2: Constraints Maps (Report - Assessment). SDV340216.

Other details: Map 6 Site 74.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4375 - Fishacre to Lyneham Pipeline Assessment
• EDV4391 - Fishacre to Lyneham Fieldwalking Survey

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