Church of St James, Winscombe

The Church of St James stands in the Somerset village of Winscombe, its 15th-century stone walls rising above the quiet lanes. The building began as a Norman church in the 12th or 13th century, and fragments from that period remain: a plain font and a single lancet window survive from the time when Bishop Jocelin consecrated the church on 26 August 1236. Three years later he gave the church to the Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral. Around 1435 Bishop John Harewell added the four-stage tower, about thirty metres tall, which local writers still praise for its elegant lines. Inside, the church shows layers of craftsmanship. In 1863 the Reverend John Augustus Yatman commissioned William Burges to rebuild the chancel, assisted by Fred Weekes and Gualbert Saunders. Burges designed three stained-glass lancets in memory of Yatman’s mother, and Nikolaus Pevsner later singled out this glass for its superior quality. A window from about 1520, decorated with silver stain, marks the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, while medieval glass appears in the side chapel and beside the organ. The tower houses eight bells cast by the Bilbie family in 1773, with two more added in 1903 by Taylors Founders. The bells ring in E flat, the heaviest weighing nearly a tonne. Sunday services continue as they have for centuries, with bell-ringers marking both morning worship and evensong.