St. James' Church in Barlborough

A general view of the south elevation

The church of St. James the Greater is set on the southern edge of the spur of the Magnesian Limestone escarpment that is occupied by the old village of Barlborough, which dates back to the C5. It is listed in Domesday Book as Barleburg, with a priest and church, although the oldest part of the current church dates back to the C12, with C14 alterations and a period of substantial rebuilding between 1894 and 1899. 

A general view from Church Walk

From the north-east end of the churchyard, at the start of Church Walk, it is possible to determine a change in the pattern of the dolomitic limestone in the tower, at about a third of the way up the second stage – at about the same level as the top of the clerestory windows. 

The west elevation of the tower

The lower section comprises walling built in thin courses, with large quoins that are typically double the bed height of the latter, but the masonry above has general walling and corner stones of the same size. From the second to the third stages of the tower, the pattern changes yet again with a reversion to the use of larger quoins and – looking very closely – the blocks are more regularly shaped and, although show irregular courses, suggest a later date. 

A detail of the west end of the tower

Arriving at the church, a large lancet window in the west elevation of the tower and a smaller lancet in its south elevation are good indicators of the Early English Gothic style, with the belfry windows in the third stage of the tower being late Perpendicular Gothic. 

A view of the tower from the south-east

The castellated parapet and the few courses of stone beneath the stringcourse are again quite different in character, being composed of very well squared ashlar blocks, and it is therefore highly likely that this forms part of the Victorian restoration, to which Pevsner also attributes the clerestory and the south aisle. 

The south aisle and clerestory

Taking a quick look at the south elevation, whilst sheltering from the heavy rain under the trees, I could see that the chancel is predominantly built of local dolomitic limestone, with occasional blocks of sandstone, which show deep cavernous decay. 

The south elevation of the chancel

Its windows, with triangular heads, are described by Pevsner as being Perpendicular Gothic but their sharp profiles indicate that these have been restored. Further evidence of this phase of restoration is seen below the eaves to the roof, where two mediaeval gargoyles have been reset into masonry that comprises two courses of long stones. 

An old gargoyle

A particularly interesting feature is the set of four escutcheons that are set into the south chancel wall. I know nothing about the subject but, as demonstrated at St. Lawrence’s church in Hatfield, an expert in heraldry would probably be able to assign a reasonably accurate date to the chancel - based on these coats of arms.

Escutcheons in the south wall of the chancel

Moving clockwise around the church to the C19 vestry, whose north window matches those of the clerestory, the door surround is built in what is obviously White Mansfield stone – with its fine green clay beds being weathered out. 

White Mansfield stone in the vestry doorway

By this time, the rain was falling so hard that I could only scamper around the rest of the north elevation to take a few record photographs, whilst sheltering under various trees, before exploring its interior, which was open for the annual flower festival. 

A general view of the north elevation

On the day of my previous trip to Old Brampton, it had been so hot that the rubber grip of my Canon Powershot G16 had become detached and I had to use my old Canon EOS 400D on this occasion - only to subsequently discover a problem with a strong colour cast that I could not correct in Photoshop.

An adjusted photo of a C12 capital in the north arcade