St James
the Great, Westerleigh
Westerleigh is a village nestling just outside Bristol and at
the southern fringes of the Cotswolds. It has its origins in Saxon
times, having been mentioned in a document dating from 887. In 946,
the village was given to the Monks of Glastonbury to pray for the
soul of King Edmund who was killed at Pucklechurch. At this time it
was probably just a clearing in the woods with possibly a wooden
church built on the site of the present one, and yet it warranted
an entry in the Doomsday book of 1086.
The present church with its noble west tower is well known to
regular rail travelers on the Bristol to Birmingham and Cardiff to
London lines where it can be seen clearly from the high embankments
which carry the lines through this small village.
The northern wall and porch of the church is from the 13th
century, as is the pulpit which is richly carved and one of the few
stone pulpits left in England. The oldest part of the church is
however the north wall of the nave, where a C13 lancet window
remains to the east of the porch which shelters a pretty Early
English period doorway. The door itself is thought to be of the
same period.
If any body would like to expand to this series please do, I
would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he
can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid
duplication.
