Listed Building record MDR12706 - St James's Church, Church Street, Riddings

St James's Church, Church Street, Riddings, built between 1832-1833. 'A church, dedicated to St James, was erected at Riddings in 1833. It is a handsome edifice of cut stone, in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel with vestry on the north side, nave, and a western embattled tower with pinnacles and an octagonal spire. The chancel was built and the church was re-seated and renovated in 1884, at a cost of nearly £3,000. The east window is a memorial of the late James Oakes, Esq., and below this is a very handsome alabaster reredos bearing sculptured figures of angles, shields, and the implements of the Passion. The nave is lighted by three two-light windows on either side, each filled with stained glass. The tower contains a peal of ten tubular bells. The church will seat 700.' (1) 'St James' Church was built in 1832 by Francis Bedford, who also built some of the London Waterloo churches. The chancel by F C Penrose was added in 1884. The west gallery stands on cast iron columns.' (2) From the National Heritage List for England: 'SK 45 SW RIDDINGS CHURCH STREET (north side) 4/43 Church of St James GV II Church. 1832 by Francis Bedford, for Oakes family of Riddings House. Ashlar, laid in alternating thick and thin courses with ashlar dressings and slate roofs with stone copings to gables, plus ridge crosses. Three and half bay nave with enclosed western tower and single bay chancel with small south porch, now chapel, and north vestry. Plinth. West elevation has central three stage tower with stepped full height angle buttresses on western corners with gableted tops and deep chamfered doorcase with returned hood and double plank doors. To either side the nave has paired blind lancets under continuous hoodmoulds and stepped angle buttresses. Above the doorcase is a lancet with returned hoodmould and above again a blind stage with moulded string-courses to base and top. Bell stage has tall paired louvred lancets with continuous hoodmoulds to each side and above a moulded cornice, embattled parapets and a recessed octagonal stone spire with friezes of carved stone, and ball finial. North and south elevations of nave have tall paired lancets with return hoodmoulds to each bay with stepped buttresses between, rising above parapets with capped tops; moulded eaves band and blocking course with moulded copings. Half bay to west has 2-light plate tracery window with lancet over, both with returned hoodmoulds, on south side and is blind to north side. Narrower chancel to east has late C19 porch in re-entrant angle to south side with double chamfered pointed east door below hoodmould with foliage stops, and paired lancets to side. The porch partly covers a blind eastern lancet to nave with returned hood- mould. South wall of chancel with three lancets with hoodmoulds and continuous sill band. North chancel wall has canted vestry to west with triple lancet window and Caernarvon arched doorcase covering eastern nave lancet, and polygonal bay to east with lancets to angle wall and with lapped stone roof. East elevation of chancel has triple stepped lancets with hoodmoulds and continuous sill band, central lancet much larger than flanking ones. Interior has canted western gallery, with trefoil headed blind panelling, on fluted iron columns, housing large organ. Tall double chamfered chancel arch with soffit on moulded corbels, below returned hood- mould flanked by tall pointed blind recesses, that to south full height with chamfered pointed doorcase to base, that to north shorter and with adjoining pair of pointed doorcases with central column, below returned hoodmoulds. Caernarvon arched door from chancel to north vestry and pointed arched doorcase from nave to tower and from tower to gallery stairs. Nave windows all with window seats to base. Queen strut roof to nave and arched braced trusses to chancel. Plain choir stalls, nave pews and altar, but elaborate marble reredos across full width of chancel with three crocketed gablets to centre, iron and brass altar rails and stone and iron rood screen across chancel arch with cusped arcade to base on marble columns and ironwork ogee headed arcade above. Octagonal pulpit and moulded stone stem and timber top with cusped dagger motifs to sides. Font also octagonal, of polished Hopton Wood marble with raised shields to each side of bowl and with carved timber cover. Two early C19 slate and white marble wall memorials to nave and numerous late C19 and early C20 brass memorials. Most windows with stained glass, that to east early C19, the rest mostly late C19. Listing NGR: SK4289852764.' (3)