---
title: "St James, Stanstead Abbotts"
description: "Located in Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire. Built Nave C12; chancel C13; tower and porch C15; NE chapel 1577. Grade I. Medieval Gothic; unrestored Georgian interior style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Churches Conservation Trust","Hertfordshire","Stanstead Abbotts","Grade I","Gothic","Georgian Interior"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/st-james-stanstead-abbotts"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T02:47:00.697Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T20:34:12.391Z"
location: "Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire"
country: "England"
county: "Hertfordshire"
town: "Stanstead Abbotts"
address: "Roydon Road, Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, SG12 8JZ"
postcode: "SG12 8JZ"
built: "Nave C12; chancel C13; tower and porch C15; NE chapel 1577"
denomination: "Churches Conservation Trust"
dedications: ["James"]
grade: "I"
style: "Medieval Gothic; unrestored Georgian interior"
materials: "Flint rubble with stone dressings; brick in the NE chapel and chancel east wall; tiled roofs; timber-framed porch"
website: "http://www.stjamesoldchurch.org.uk/links"
openingHours: "This ancient building is open most weekends in summer and also hosts a number of events throughout the year."
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1078730"
gridReference: "TL 399 110"
accessNotes: "Accessible toilets nearby. Level access to the main areas"
---

# St James, Stanstead Abbotts

The Old Church of St James is a Grade I redundant church about a mile south-east of Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It stands on a hill overlooking the Lea marshes.

## Overview

Historic England calls it of outstanding interest as a medieval church with an unrestored eighteenth-century interior. Wikipedia dates the nave to the twelfth century and the chancel to the thirteenth; the tower and porch are fifteenth-century, and the north-east chapel was added in 1577. In 1881 St Andrew’s was built nearer the village and superseded St James’. The fabric is flint rubble with stone dressings; some Roman tiles are built into the walls. The two-stage embattled west tower has a polygonal south-east stair turret carried above the parapet and a small lead-covered spire.

The whitewashed interior has box pews, a sixteenth-century two-decker pulpit, a thirteenth-century circular font on a fifteenth-century pedestal, a thirteenth-century double piscina, royal arms and commandment boards, and a monument of 1587 to Sir Edward Baesh with kneeling effigies. Pevsner wrote that few Hertfordshire churches so well preserve an eighteenth-century village character. Three bells date from 1605, 1617 and 1790.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1078730](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1078730)
- [Friends of St James’ Old Church](https://www.stjamesoldchurch.org.uk/)
- [Wikipedia: St James' Church, Stanstead Abbotts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Church,_Stanstead_Abbotts)