The cross was moved from its earlier position to make way for the burial place of Sir Francis Chantrey, which lies near the top of the path to the left.

Beyond is Norton Hall, originally the residence of the Lord of the Manor.  The house enjoys panoramic views over Graves Park and into the Peak District.  In recent times, the Hall has had a varied history: serving as a hospital for a number of years before lying empty for quite a while.  It has now been divided into a number of residential homes.

The main entrance to the church has a number of interesting features.  The six carved stone faces or corbels in the porch were found in the vaults at the time of the church restoration (1881/2) and are believed to be Norman or early medieval.

Several ancient tombstones line the walls of the porch, one of which is to Barbara Lee, who was buried near the altar in 1670 – in an upright position!  William Blythe of Norton Lees (Bishop’s House) was a parliamentary commander during the English Civil War. In 1646, his troops destroyed Sheffield Castle.

The vaulted roof is a feature introduced during the 1882 restoration of the church, by George Edmund Street, but the arch over the main door still contains portions of the original Norman zigzag moulding.

On entering the church, look to the left to see the belfry.  The tower is part of the original 12^th Century building  The original six bells were recast as a memorial to Francis Westby Bagshawe and another two added.  A mechanical chiming device was installed in 1917.

Through the belfry is the west window.  A depiction of the Nunc Dimittis, it was commissioned as a memorial to William Chambers Bagshawe.

In front of the belfry stands the font.  It dates from 1220 and is a fine example of the early English style.  The basin is supported on four groups of pillars.  On the eastern face of the font is a crudely carved salamander.  He represents the devil looking up in anger and frustration at the baptisms.  Early English fonts are rare and as such the British Museum holds a drawing of the font.

The belfry is separated from the font by a wooden screen.  This is the work of the Hunstones of Tideswell.

Behind the main entrance, to the south side, is a stained-glass window, illustrating the text "Suffer the little children to come unto me..." (Mark10.14). It was commissioned in memory of the Revd H.H.Pearson.  Until 1881, steps led from the external side of the porch to the bell tower and west gallery.  The old door was replaced by this window, which may account for the asymmetric surrounds.

On the wall beyond the font stands a board honouring all the past incumbents of St. James', showing their term of office.  

Constructed of oak, the board was commissioned as a token of appreciation of Canon Rolf Gledhill’s 28 year ministry at St. James’.  It was designed by W.G. Hunstone of Tideswell and bears the names of the incumbents of the church, with gilded and painted diocesan coats of arms.

Across from the porch, in front of the steps up to the choir vestry, stands a statue of Sir Francis  Chantrey R.A.  It was created after his death, from portraits, by John Bell.

Sir Francis was born in 1781 in Norton, where he spent his childhood.  He went on to become the most eminent sculptor of his time and many of his busts and statues can still be seen throughout the country.

Even though he spent most of his adult life in London, his love of Norton remained.

After his death in 1841, his body was returned to Norton, and buried in the grounds of St. James' at a location of his own choosing.  Since then, his fame has grown, not least because of "The Chantrey Bequest".  It was set up in accordance with his will, following the death of his wife, Lady Mary Anne Chantrey, in 1875, to fund a public national collection of British fine paintings and sculptures.  To qualify, artists had to be residing in Great Britain at the time they executed their works.

A considerable number of paintings and sculptures were purchased through the latter part of the 19th Century.   The collection stood at 85 works when it was transferred to the Tate Gallery in 1897, since when further additions have been made.  By the end of the 20th Century, the collection had grown to over 500.

The north aisle has three stained glass windows.  The first dates from 1935 and is a memorial to Revd G.W. Hall.  It depicts Jesus calling the first disciples, Peter and Andrew on the left and James and John on the right with their father Zebedee.

The middle window is in memory of James Jenkins, a benefactor of St. James', who died at his home, Maugerhay, in 1868.  It draws on the text "I was hungry and you gave me meat" (Matthew25 .35).

The window nearest the organ screen is known as the angel window.  The three figures depict the Angel of Praise, the Guardian Angel and the Angel of Prayer.  It is a memorial to Annie Hall (d.1904), the wife of G.W. Hall.  The face of the central figure is that of Mrs. Hall.

The organ screen was erected in memory of Revd G.W. Hall.  It was made from oak panelling originally used under the east window.  

Looking back down the nave, an irregular architecture is evident.  In its earliest form, the church would have had no aisles, and a much smaller chancel.  Substantial rebuilding between the 13^th and 15^th centuries added the aisles and porch.  It was during this period that the chancel was enlarged and the bell-tower re-roofed.  The north aisle was added before the south, accounting for the different pillar styles; the north has round ones and the south octagonal.

Up to the mid-1660’s, the church had no seating for the congregation.  In the earliest times sermons may have been preached from the churchyard cross, outside.  Pews were added after the Reformation: evidenced by a seating plan from the 17^th Century, which still exists today.  A seat with a good view did not come cheap. In the 1660s, a seat in the west gallery would have cost between three and eleven shillings (15p to 55p).  Those unable to pay stood at the back.

In the 18^th Century, galleries were built along the north and south aisles. Visibility from these low-ceilinged and rather cramped side galleries was poor.  In an attempt to improve the situation, a pillar was removed from either side of the nave, when the church was re-pewed in 1820.  The triple-decker pulpit was also moved from the south to the north side of the nave.  During this period, the organ was situated at the west of the Church, giving rise to the gallery at that end being known as “The Singing Gallery”.

The church was extensively restored in 1882, to designs by Sir George Edmund Street R.A. (pictured below), a distinguished architect famous for his ecclesiastical designs.  He was responsible for many Victorian church restorations, including St. James the Less in Vauxhall, London, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, and Bristol Cathedral.  Ironically, he is perhaps best known for a secular work – the Law Courts in The Stand, London.  He helped train such notable masters as William Morris, Phillip Webb and Richard Norman Shaw, who went on to become exponents of the Arts and Crafts Movement.  He died in 1881, before St. James’ was completed, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Work began with removal of the galleries and box pews and replacement of the missing pillars.  A set of stone steps, to the bell tower from outside the porch, was removed, along with a staircase in the porch.  The latter revealed remains of the original Norman archway.

The remodelling left the interior of the church much as it is seen today.

Turning back to face the chancel, note the small window on the right hand side.  This was added to improve visibility through to the altar, from the south aisle.

In front of the chancel, to the left, stands the pulpit.  It was introduced as part of the renovation in 1881/2.  Prior to that, a three-decker pulpit stood on this spot.  An example of a similar three-decker still exists in Beauchief Abbey.

The carved figures were added in 1906 as a memorial to Annie Hall, the wife of Revd G.W. Hall. They depict (from left to right) the martyrs John the Baptist; St. Stephen; James the Great; St. Andrew; St. Peter; St. Barnabas; St. Paul; and St. Alban.

To the left of the pulpit stands a medieval, stone "coffin lid".  It was formally in the churchyard, until being moved into the church during the 1950s.

The altar can be seen through the chancel, which is flanked by choir stalls.  The chancel was totally refurbished in 1881/2, in line with the revival of choral worshiping.  The choir stalls are typical late Victorian.

St. James' benefits from an enthusiastic choir, who sing at the main Eucharist and at evensong most Sundays as well as weddings held in the church.

Behind the altar is the east window, a magnificent five light feature designed by Frampton.  The main windows show Moses holding the ten commandments; Aaron, his brother; Christ the Good Shepherd in the centre; St. Peter holding the keys; St. James with his traditional blue robe, tricorn hat and scallop shell.  Four lower lights portray the instruments of Christ’s passion: the whipping post and whips, the three nails and the crown of thorns, the hammer and the pincers used to nail him to the cross and the sponge used to give him vinegar to drink along with the ladder and the spear which pierce his side after his death.  The central lower light portrays the bread and the cup with which Christians make “a perpetual memory of that precious death”. 

Mrs. Mary Cammell wished to restore the chancel in memory of her husband Charles.  The plans attracted much attention, and a public meeting was called for by the vicar’s warden, Francis Westby Bagshawe of The Oakes.  The outcome led to the complete restoration of the church by G.E. Street in 1881/2.  Mrs. Cammell did in fact pay for the restoration of both the sanctuary and the chancel. Their son, Bernard, who was also Lay Rector of Norton, paid for the east window.

On the wall to the right of the vestry door, a memorial to the Bullock family may be seen, close by another memorial to Francis Chantrey, this time by J. Hefferman, who was Chantrey’s assistant for 30 years.

To the right of the chancel is the Blythe Chapel.  It was built about 1524 by Geoffrey Blythe, Bishop of Lichfield, as a memorial to his parents, William and Saffrey, who had lived near the church.

Their carved alabaster tomb, which originally stood in the centre of the chapel, was mutilated by parliamentary troops during the Civil War.

There are many other memorials to local families found in this chapel: notably Leonard Gill, who endowed Norton Free School in 1654; the Bagshawes of The Oakes; Cornelius Clarke of Norton Hall.  Of especial interest is an incised slab to William Selioke and his wife Joyce, which is mentioned in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, listing of brass-rubbings.

The original Tudor oak roof includes some interesting carved bosses.  Also note the old stone piscina, situated in the wall to the right of the altar.  This was used originally to wash the sacred vessels for the Eucharist.

The stained glass windows were financed by Bernard Cammell shortly after 1882, and contain their family crest in a number of places.

 To the left of the main window is the most recent addition to the chapel: an Aumbry, given by Grace Smout, and her sister Betty Tew.  ‘Aumbry’ is an old English word for a safe in the wall of a church, set aside to hold the consecrated bread and wine of the Blessed Sacrament.  It is used for this purpose to the present day. The marquetry door shows a ‘Pelican in her piety’, symbolic of the Eucharist, from an old English story that the pelican feeds her young from her breast on her own blood, just as Jesus feeds us with his body and blood in Holy Communion after dying on the cross for us.

Returning along the south aisle, the remains of a blocked up door may be seen.  This was first discovered from the outside of the church, in the 1940s, when a violent storm blew the ivy off the wall. However, it wasn't until 1963, when the plaster was removed from the inside wall, that the outline became clearly visible.  It remains a mystery as to what this door was for or why it was blocked up.

There are two windows along the south aisle.  The first one contains a scene depicting the Resurrection, and is in memory of Francis Westby Bagshawe.

The second is in memory of Dennis Beet and is a depiction of the Crucifixion, specifically the scene of John 19:26-27, when Jesus gave the Virgin Mary to the beloved disciple to be his mother and gave the beloved disciple to the Virgin Mary to be her son.  This is the only depiction of the Crucifixion which is a permanent part of the church.

The Paschal Candlestick is another of the more recent additions to St. James’ also donated by Elizabeth Beet in memory of her late husband Dennis.  The paschal candle is lit on Easter day, and burns on each Sunday throughout the Easter season.  It stands as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus.  The paschal candle is placed by the font and is lit during baptisms.  Its flame is used to light the candle presented to the newly baptised person during the ceremony.

The earliest known documentary evidence shows a church existed in Norton in 1183, when the “Lord of the Manor of Norton and High Sheriff of Nottingham”, one Robert Fitzranulph, bestowed the church upon the newly established Beauchief Abbey.  At one time, Robert Fitzranulph was thought to have been involved in the murder of Thomas à Beckett.  This has subsequently proved unfounded.

The main body of the building is sandstone: the Blythe Chapel is magnesian limestone (dolomite).  Both materials are found locally.  The style is single storey, both Transitional Norman and Perpendicular architecture, with a bell tower to the west.

Parapets and pinnacles enhance the upper walls and tower.  One tower pinnacle had to be replaced, after it was blown down during the 1962 gales.  The south aisle and Blythe Chapel pinnacles, together with some parapets, were replaced in 1999.

The stone had eroded badly, making them unsafe.  This work cost £17,000.  An even more dramatic repair was necessary in 2002/3.  The entire roof of the church had to be replaced at a cost in excess of £100,000.  As with most listed buildings, St. James’ continues to be both a beauty and an ongoing responsibility.

On the south wall is an unusual example of an upright sundial.  The rod, known as a gnomon, is made of bronze.  The dial dates back to 1782.

The clock on the tower was fitted in 1869, replacing an earlier 1820 model.  The face is gold leaf, which is susceptible to the weather, causing it to need re-gilding several times through the years.  The clock’s winding mechanism was replaced in 2005.

Beyond the bell tower lies the Garden of Remembrance.  Although no bodies have been buried in the grounds for well over a century, cremated remains are still buried here today.  The garden was designed by Ivan Morris in the mid 1960s.  It depicts an Easter Garden theme, with grindstones, a symbol of local industry, representing the rolling of the stone from the tomb.  The centrepiece employs the Christian symbol of a fish, together with the Greek letters  A  and  w  (alpha and omega) – beginning and end.

The lychgate was redesigned in 1963, when wrought iron gates and a light were added.  The gate was originally used as a resting place for coffins on the way into church.  To the left of the gate, the remains of the old stocks can still be seen.

The graves reflect local life – farmers, scythe makers and nail makers.  There are many quaint inscriptions to be found, and one rather haunting one :-

In evil hour, I fell, oppressed with pain

By bloody-minded men untimely slain

O may they find through Jesus crucified

That mercy their rude hands to me denied.

        Charles Glover of Holmhirst, murdered at age 16

The oldest known is a simple stone to Elizabeth Cooke, who died in 1644.

The memorial to Revd Cavendish Nevile was originally placed under the east window.  No trace of it can be found today, and records fail to indicate why.

There is a celtic cross in the north east corner of the yard, made of Aberdeen granite.  It stands as a memorial to Revd G.W. Hall and his wife Annie.  The placement puts it in sight of both Norton Grange, where Annie lived before marriage, and the old Rectory, where the Halls enjoyed only a short time together.

In the north west perimeter wall, the remains of an old Elizabethan window may be found.  It is believed to originate from a previous Norton Hall

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