St. James' Church, Yarmouth is a

Grade II* 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 ...

listed

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

located in

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Yarmouth is a town, port and civil parish in the west of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river. The town grew near the river crossing, originally a ferry ...

History

The church foundation is medieval but little remains. Rebuilding began in 1635. There is a monument to the seventeenth-century admiral

Sir Robert Holmes Sir Robert Holmes ( – 18 November 1692) was an English Admiral of the Restoration Navy. He participated in the second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars, both of which he is, by some, credited with having started. He was made Governor of the Is ...

who based his operations at Yarmouth. He obtained it in a raid on a French ship, when he seized an unfinished statue of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

and forced the sculptor to finish it with his own head rather than the king's. However, in the opinion of the author of the guidebook available at the church, this is a legend and "It is only fair to say that the face bears more resemblance to King Louis than to the known portraits of Sir Robert." The church consists of nave with north and south aisles, a chancel and a western tower. The original church was said by local tradition to have been at the east end of the town, and its foundations were visible in the old churchyard in 1845. Destroyed by the French in their raid of 1377, it is said to have been rebuilt on the present site only to be again reduced to a ruin in 1543. At the beginning of the 17th century it was practically rebuilt, and reconsecrated by

John Davenant John Davenant (20 May 1572, in London – 20 April 1641, in Salisbury) was an English academic and bishop of Salisbury from 1621. He also served as one of the English delegates to the Synod of Dort. Life He was educated at Queens' College, Ca ...

the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

on 11 March 1626. The chancel, which had a polygonal roof with enriched bosses at the intersection of the ribs, was lengthened by 12 ft. in 1889. To the south of it is the little mortuary chapel containing a fine statue of Sir Robert Holmes, died 1692, and many memorials to the Holmes family. There is a wall tablet by

Nollekens Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. Life Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...

to Captain John Urry, 1802, and in the floor are 17th-century grave slabs of the Hide family and to Peter Pryavlx, 1644. On the front of the gallery at the west end are brass tablets commemorating the different charitable bequests, and in the north aisle is the royal achievement of King George I, 1715.'The borough of Yarmouth', A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5 (1912), pp. 286-292. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42093 Date accessed: 14 December 2008. St James, Yarmouth - Monument - geograph.org.uk - 1172290.jpg, Statue of

St James, Yarmouth - East end - geograph.org.uk - 1172276.jpg, The east end Yarmouth St James Church font.JPG, The font Yarmouth St James Church interior.JPG, The altar

Organ

The organ, thumb The organ was built by Henry Speechly & Son. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarmouth, St. James Church of England church buildings on the Isle of Wight Grade II* listed churches on the Isle of Wight Yarmouth, Isle of Wight