Who are the Friends?
The Friends of St James’ is a registered charity and the Trustees are local people, not necessarily churchgoers, who love St. James’ Church, a Grade 1 Listed Building which is over 500 years old, and want to preserve its beauty, fabric, furniture and churchyard for the congregation; villagers and visitors alike. We are interested in the history, life and work of St. James’ and are anxious to maintain its historic presence within Nayland. [CC1] 

Why does our Church need the Friends?
The annual income of St.James’ does not cover the normal running costs and maintenance of the building, let alone the inevitable costs of the repairs and other work necessary to upkeep a Listed Building. The local Parochial Church Council, which is responsible for running St James,  is unable to fully fund the ongoing cost of the restoration and necessary improvements of the building.  The aim of the Friends is to fill the shortfall in funding, to preserve the historic St. James’, and enable it to continue to serve its parish and the community in its varied roles.

What do the Friends do?
We have created a fund from subscriptions, donations, legacies and fund raising events from which we pay for maintenance and improvement of the fabric of St. James’ Church. Each year a report of the previous year’s activities and of future needs is sent to Members and the Annual General Meeting is held in February or March. The Friends of St. James’ Church, Nayland was formed in 1995. Since that date and up to date, our expenditure on the fabric of St. James’ Church has amounted to more than £150,000. Work carried out during this period has included:

  • * Repairs to the fabric required by the Quinquennial (5 year) Survey
    * Restoration of the organ and loft
    * Re-organising interior spaces to suit wider use for the whole community, including coffee mornings, concerts and community productions
    * Renewal of the heating and rewiring
    * Repair and re-leading of stained glass windows
    * A new wrought iron gate at the south west porch and the restoration of others
    * Resurfacing of the Churchyard paths
    * Resurfacing the roof of the tower and renewal of exterior stonework
    *A Kneeler Project
    * Repair and re-gilding the clock and weathervane
  • * Installation of a Servery and WC

Further work is now required on the church roof together with other repairs. We will be asked to support these expensive improvements, so please subscribe, as we need all the help we can get in maintaining this important community resource

Click here to donate online


If you are a taxpayer, please consider subscribing under Gift Aid to enable the Friends to reclaim tax on any money you give. This can add up to 40% of extra value.

We thank you for your interest and support.