castle street society dover history st james council development heritage harbour
castle street society dover history st james council development heritage harbour
castle street society dover history st james council development heritage harbour
castle street society dover history st james council development heritage harbour
Dover's Tidy Ruin" - Old St James' Church - stands at the end of St James' Street, at the foot of Castle Hill.
Built c.1070
Restored 1868/69
Badly damaged in WW1
Restored 1931
Badly damaged in WW2
Tower collapsed c.1950
The earliest mention of the Church of St. James can be found in the Domesday Monachorum and White Book of St. Augustine, compiled during the time of Archbishop Lanfranc (c.1070-1089AD), which names it as one of the four churches subordinate to St Martin le Grand. The others were: St Peter (Market Square); and St Nicholas and St John the Baptist, both of which were in the church of St Martin le Grand.
A Visitation of the Diocese of Canterbury by the Bishop Suffragan of Dover, Richard Rogers, on 29th September 1573, found the church to be somewhat lacking.