The Church of St James in

Winscombe Winscombe is a large village in the North Somerset unitary district of Somerset, South West England, close to the settlements of Axbridge and Cheddar, on the western edge of the Mendip Hills, southeast of Weston-super-Mare and southwest of B ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, has 12th- or 13th-century origins but the present building dates from the 15th century. 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 ...

. There are no records remaining of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

church on the site, though the font and a single lancet window date from the period, and a Deed of Gift survives confirming that the church was consecrated by Bishop Jocelin on 26 August 1236. It was given by him to the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral three years later. The four-stage tower ("one of the most elegant" in Somerset) was added around 1435, by Bishop John Harewell, and at the same time stained glass was added. The church was restored and a new chancel added in 1863. The rebuilding of the chancel was undertaken by

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoc ...

. He was commissioned by the Reverend John Augustus Yatman, whose brother had been Burges's main client for painted furniture. Burges and his team, including Fred Weekes and Gualbert Saunders, also undertook the design of three stained-glass lancet windows in the chancel, in memory of Yatman's mother.

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 ...

appreciated their quality, "much better aesthetically is the glass in the chancel," but erroneously attributes them as "one of the best examples of

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

glass in existence and quite unrecorded." The Carsleigh Window in the north wall of the chancel () is decorated with silver stain, "marking the close of the Middle Ages and the arrival of the Renaissance". There is medieval glass in the two windows in the north wall of the side chapel, and in the window next to the organ. The bells of St James have long called people to worship, the original bells being cast in 1773 by local founders the

Bilbie family The Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 17th century to the early 19th century. Their importance to the local economy and ...

. Two newer bells were added in 1903 by Taylors Founders. The eight bells are in the key of E flat and the tenor weighs 18–1–8 (18

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distingu ...

, 1 quarter of a hundredweight and 8 lb, or 930 kg). St James holds regular services on Sundays, with

bell ringing Campanology () is the scientific and musical study of bells. It encompasses the technology of bells – how they are founded, tuned and rung – as well as the history, methods, and traditions of bellringing as an art. It is common to collect t ...

being provided for both the morning service and

evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

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References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winscombe, Saint James 15th-century church buildings in England Religious buildings and structures completed in 1435 Towers completed in the 15th century Church of England church buildings in North Somerset Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in North Somerset

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