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Church of St James, Halse facts for kids

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Church of St James
Reddish stone building with square tower.
General information
Town or city Halse, Somerset
Country England
Coordinates 51°02′33″N 3°13′42″W / 51.0425°N 3.2283°W / 51.0425; -3.2283
Completed 15th century

The Church of St James is an old and important church in a village called Halse, in Somerset, England. It was built a very long time ago, during the Norman period. The church is named after St James the Less. It's so special that it's been given a "Grade I" listed building status. This means it's one of the most important historic buildings in the country!

How Old Is It?

This church has parts that are super old, from the 1100s and 1200s! Even the tower is from that time. But most of the church you see today was built in the 1400s. A part called the north aisle was added around 1546. The church also got a big makeover in 1900 to fix it up.

The church is built with red sandstone. This stone was formed millions of years ago during the Triassic Period. It also has special decorative parts made from Hamstone, which is another type of local stone.

Inside the Church

When you go inside, you can see a beautiful rood screen. This is a decorative screen that used to separate the main part of the church from the altar area. It has a cool "fan-vaulted" design, which looks like a fan opening up. The screen used to be bigger, but some parts were taken away in 1803.

The Church Today

The Church of St James is an Anglican church. It is part of a group of churches that includes Milverton with Halse, Fitzhead, and Ash Priors. These churches are all part of the archdeaconry of Taunton.

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