The Church of St James is a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

Kinnersley Kinnersley is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The village is about east of the Wales-England border and north-west of Hereford. Geography At roughly 200 metres above sea level and north of the River Wye, the village ...

in the English county of

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The Church of St James dates from the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. It was restored in 1868 by Thomas Nicholson. From 1873, interior decoration was designed by

George Frederick Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and worked in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career. He was one of the founders of Watt ...

and carried out by the Reverend Frederick Andrews. In the previous year, Bodley had married Minna Reavely; the Reavely family were the owners of

Kinnersley Castle Kinnersley Castle in Herefordshire, England, is one of the many marches castles along the Welsh Borders. The Castle of Kinnersley, on the A4112 east of Eardisley, was originally a stone structure, thought to have been built during the reign o ...

, immediately adjacent to the church. Bodley was buried in the churchyard at St James', following his death in 1907. The church remains an active parish church in the

Diocese of Hereford The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral ...

. The building suffered deterioration in the 21st century; the roof has now been repaired but the ingress of water caused damp which has damaged the interior decoration. The church is currently on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

Architecture and description

The design of the church is unusual. Its "most impressive" element is the, almost detached, tower, constructed in the 14th century. The body of the church is simple, a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

dating from c.1300, with a north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

and an arcade. The interior has waggon roofs, with "rich" decoration designed by Bodley and executed by Andrews. It includes much multi-coloured stenciling. Alan Brooks, in the 2012 revised ''Herefordshire'' volume of the

Buildings of England The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

series, describes the decoration as "particularly fine". St James is a

. The church contains some notable monuments, including one of the mid-17th century to Francis Smalman and his wife Susan, which

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

attributes to Samuel Baldwin. The war memorial in the churchyard is designed in the form of an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

and commemorates the men of the village who died in both the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

s. It is a Grade II listed structure. Bodley's grave, which is also listed at Grade II, is close to that of his collaborator on the interior decoration of the church, the Rev. Frederick Andrews.

Gallery

St James, Kinnersley, tower.jpg, "The most impressive feature, the sheer NW tower" St. James' church (Kinnersley) (geograph 7045360).jpg, The church interior St James Kinnersley, stencilwork by G F Bodley.JPG, Decorative stencilwork designed by Bodley and worked by Rev. Frederick Andrews Monument in Kinnersley church - geograph.org.uk - 325944.jpg, Monument to Dame Anne Morgan Monument to Francis Smallman (Kinnersley) (geograph 7045600).jpg, Smalman Monument St James, Kinnersley.JPG, The church in its churchyard Grave of G F Bodley, Kinnersley.JPG, Bodley's grave St. James' church (War memorial - Kinnersley) (geograph 7045165).jpg, The Grade II listed war memorial

External links

Church of England Heirtage Record for St James

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{Commons category, St James, Kinnersley

Diocese of Hereford Grade I listed churches in Herefordshire