The Nave and Chancel © PE Blanche 2001 The west door. © PE Blanche 2001

The remains of the Church of St. James are now just the ruins of the exterior walls next to the White Horse Public House in what also remains of St. James' Street. The Church has a long history dating from Norman times and was at one time one of the main parish churches in Dover. However, the building received several direct hits from the German shelling of Dover from France during W.W.II and ceased to operate as a Church in 1940. Genealogists will find that the last records that are recorded for this Church for baptisms and marriages are also in 1940. For entries subsequent to this date the probability is that they will appear in the records of St. Mary's Church. In addition to this, when the Church of St. Mary de Castro located within the defences of Dover Castle fell into a poor state of repair in the 19th Century, St. James was used as the garrison church - therefore it is possible that events relating to military personnel from the Castle could be recorded in the records of this Church Prior to its destruction the Church was cruciform in shape and old pictures show it with a central castellated tower with no spire at the crossing point. The shape and decoration of the west door (bottom left) suggests that it might be Norman. One article I have read states that the Church was heavily renovated in the Victorian period and it is, in fact, a fake. However, I have seen copies of prints supposedly made in the late 18th Century where the door is shown just as it is today which means that the Victorian renovation suggestion is probably not correct. Given that it is now over sixty years since this Church has been used, information about it is rather sparse. If I find more detail in the future I shall add to this page.