I am going to start my look at Colchester churches that don’t usually feature on guided tours with the church of St. James in East Hill, or to give it its full title, The Church of St James the Great in the Parish of St James and St Paul, Colchester. It is a Church of England but is in the High Church (Anglo-Catholic) tradition.
It is the largest church in Colchester and is located just inside the former East Gate of the city at the top of East Hill. The city wall, which dates from Roman times and still exists, forms the edge of the churchyard on its eastern side. You can read about a possible remnant of the East Gate which still exists within the retaining wall of the churchyard in my previous blog https://www.colchesterwalksandtalks.com/post/an-abandoned-staircase-with-a-fascinating-past
The church is built of Roman rubble and ashlar which are sculpted blocks of Roman origin and dates from the 12th century. It may originally have been cruciform in shape. The lower stages of the tower were built in the late 12th or early 13th centuries and the upper stage was built in the14th century.
The transepts (cross wings) of the original church were extended as aisles around 1300 when two eastern bays of arcades were built. There was major reconstruction in the late 15th century which was paid for by money raised by entertainment in the street outside of the church. The chancel was worked on and two western bays of arcades built and arches of eastern bays were reshaped to match them. The aisles were extended and windows replaced. A vestry was built and the tower was remodelled and given diagonal buttresses.
In the 17th and 18th centuries it went through cycles of decay and repair. By 1870 it was so dilapidated that services were no longer being held so it was restored in 1871 and 1872. It got a new organ in 1890 and in the 1950s the choir stalls were removed, the chancel floor was lowered and the North Chapel was restored. The Organ was removed and replaced with one removed from St Nicholas Church when that was demolished.
John Ball, a leader in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, was one of the priests at St James the Great in the 1360s. However, he was just a parochial chaplain, equivalent to a curate's assistant and was never the parish priest there. Another clergyman with the same name, and possibly related, held that role. The separate identity of this other John Ball is confirmed by church records that report his death in 1394, thirteen years after the death of the rebel John Ball. The involvement with St James of the rebel John Ball has commemorated in modern times with a simple wooden plaque on the south wall of the church where there are also pamphlets and a display of articles.
The church is well worth a visit when it is open, especially during Open Heritage Weekends. You can read more about its history at https://stjamesthegreat.wordpress.com/history/