Sutton St James Explained

Static Image Name:Sutton St. James Church - geograph.org.uk - 120683.jpg
Static Image Caption:Sutton St James' church tower and chancel
Country:England
Official Name:Sutton St James
Coordinates:52.7446°N 0.0674°W
Population:1,118
Population Ref:(2011)[1]
Shire District:South Holland
Shire County:Lincolnshire
Region:East Midlands
Constituency Westminster:South Holland and The Deepings
Post Town:SPALDING
Postcode District:PE12
Postcode Area:PE
Os Grid Reference:TF396183
London Distance Mi:100
London Direction:S

Sutton St James is a village and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, about 4miles south-west of Long Sutton.

Lying in the Lincolnshire Fens, Sutton St James did not exist at the time of the 1086 Domesday Book. Sutton St James was a chapelry to the parish of Long Sutton until it was created a civil parish in 1866.[2]

The parish church is dedicated to Saint James, and is unusual in that the chancel and tower are disconnected, the nave having been destroyed during the Interregnum, when Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of England. The tower is Grade II* listed and dates from the 15th century, with restorations in 1879 and 1894. The chancel is Grade II listed and dates from the 15th century – it was heavily restored at the same time as the tower, and an extension was added in the 20th century. The font bowl dates from the 15th century.

St Ives Cross is a 14th-century butter cross. All that now remains are four steps, the base and 12inches of the shaft. It stands at the junction of four roads west of the village, and is a scheduled monument and Grade II listed.

Unusually for a small village, there is another cross located near Old Fen Dyke, which is believed to be a market cross, nearly 0.75miles south-west of St Ives Cross. Similarly, the base, and part of the shaft are all that survive. It is scheduled and Grade II listed. It is believed to be one of a rare group of medieval boundary markers of which only two other crosses survive.

Sutton St James has a butchers, a primary school, church hall, village hall, gun shop, hairdressers, public house, post office, shop, bowls club, football club, a small park, garage, a Baptist church and a playgroup.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parish population 2011. 24 August 2015. Office for National Statistics. Neighbourhood Statistics.
  2. Web site: Sutton St James. Vision of Britain. University of Portsmouth. 8 August 2011.