TF1509 : The Church of St James: Clock face
taken 4 years ago, near to Deeping Gate, Peterborough, England
Rarely known by its dedication to St James, this is normally called "The Priory Church", by village and congregation alike. It was founded as part of a Benedictine Priory by Baldwin Fitzgilbert in 1139. The current monumental building dates from around 50 years later. The priory probably had no more than six monastic members, being subsidiary to the mother Benedictine house of Thorney.
Dissolution came in 1539, the tower collapsed in 1717, and the organ was installed in 1971.
The enormous size of the church is supposed to have contributed to its nickname of "kill parson", perhaps because of the effort of making the sermon heard througout the building.
The church is a grade I listed building (see Link ). See also Link for the history of the priory. Much of the content of the church guide book is also available at the parish's web site Link
There are at least five saints called St James, and none of the sources I have consulted mention which one the church is dedicated to. So I contacted the Vicar, who tells me "The dedication is to St James the Apostle", also known as St James the Great, James, son of Zebedee. That's the one buried at Santiago de Compostela in Spain.