St James Church is unique in being one of the only pre-Conquest church in West Yorkshire (almost all other churches were demolished and rebuilt by the Normans), and archaeological evidence reveals that Christian have worshipped on this site for over 1,000 years! It includes box pews, a triple decker pulpit with sounding board, an organ gallery and incorporates a Norman arch from the. The Church is grade 1 listed and much loved by the Georgian Society.
Because of this, the church building is quite a challenge to maintain in good repair, and we are currently working on a number of projects:
Restoration of the plaster work. This will likely require scaffolding to be erected and specific plaster used, and cost a considerable sum, for which we will look into any grants that are available.
Roof damage to the rear corner of the building. This currently renders a number of pews inoperable due to safety reasons.
If you have any expertise or are interested in the restoration work, please do get in touch.
We have a great leaflet that gives more information about the inside of the church.
