St James' Church, Stretham, Cambridgeshire

St James’ Church stands in the middle of Stretham, a small Cambridgeshire village six kilometres south of Ely. Founded in the 12th century, the church was rebuilt and enlarged in the 14th century and then restored in 1876 by J. P. St Aubyn. English Heritage recognises the building as Grade II*, placing it among the country’s most important historic sites. A turret clock on the east face of the tower was installed in 1876 by JB Joyce & Co, the world’s oldest tower-clock firm, and still keeps accurate time. The church owns a ring of six bells, rung from a first-floor chamber above the servery. Regular bell ringing resumed in 2011 after several years without change ringing. The church’s interior holds medieval features such as a 1440 oak screen carved with intricate tracery. A black marble slab in the chancel commemorates Anne Brunsell, sister of Sir Christopher Wren, who died in 1667. An 1886 organ by J W Walker & Sons was rebuilt in 1907 by Paddy Benson of Norman & Beard and later converted to electric blowing. A three-seat sedilia and an aumbry with a tomb recess are set into the north wall. The east window of the chancel contains five stained-glass lights under Gothic tracery. Outside, the ashlar-faced tower has angled buttresses and a three-light west window with flowing tracery. The east wall of the chancel still shows 12th-century stonework, including two clamped buttresses. Floodlighting funded by the National Lottery illuminates the church at night. The building belongs to the Ely Team Ministry, a group of eight local churches sharing ministry and resources.