St James's church is located on the north side of Walter Road in an oval churchyard defined by St James's Crescent. It was built in 1863-7 in a nineteenth-century version of Decorated style to designs of architect Thomas Nicholson of Hereford. Built as chapel of ease to St Mary's (until separate parish formed 1985), it was constructed of brown rock-faced stone with pale freestone dressings, slate roof and angle buttresses; most of the windows have hoodmoulds with head stops. Its plan comprises nave, lean-to aisles, chancel, north and south transepts, south gabled porch, and vestries to north of chancel. Being built on an island site the church was intended to dominate its surroundings but fails to do so as its proposed south-west tower was never built.
Inside, the nave is of four bays with round shafts and floral capitals. Roofs to nave and chancel are open-braced. Stained glass includes work by Gerald Smith of A.K.Nicholson's (1953-4).

Source: J.Newman, Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan (1995), p.584-5.

RCAHMW, 17 February 2015