Westerleigh

The Scallop of St James the Great
St James the Great was a fisherman who became one of the first followers of Jesus, and is distinguished from St James the Less, another of the twelve apostles. St James the Great was the first of the apostles to die, beheaded in Jerusalem in AD44. St James' body was thought to have been miraculously transported to Santiago de Compostela in Spain in the early middle ages. His shrine there became the third most popular place of pilgrimage, after Jerusalem and Rome. It remains today a great centre of pilgrimage from all over Europe.	But why a scallop? St James is the patron saint of pilgrims; the scallop shell, worn by pilgrims is his symbol. It is said that just as the pilgrims from Jerusalem would return with a palm cross, so the pilgrims following St James’ trail to Santiago de Compostela would return with a shell. St James the Great, Westerleigh It is possible that the church was associated with the pilgrimage route which ran down the Cotswold Edge to Spain from Worcestershire via Bristol. The original church was a chapel of Pucklechurch, and was consecrated by the bishop of Worcestershire on April 16th 1304. At that time, it consisted of the north aisle, chancel and sanctuary. The south aisle, tower and porch were added in the fifteen cenury. In 1863 lightning struck the church, and fire damaged much of the building; some restoration work was undertaken in 1875. However in 1885 Richard Stevens became curate, and the next year he established Westerleigh as an independent parish and undertook a series of major works of restoration. He died in 1935 aged 93.

The Scallop of St James the Great

St James the Great was a fisherman who became one of the first followers of Jesus, and is distinguished from St James the Less, another of the twelve apostles. St James the Great was the first of the apostles to die, beheaded in Jerusalem in AD44.

St James' body was thought to have been miraculously transported to Santiago de Compostela in Spain in the early middle ages. His shrine there became the third most popular place of pilgrimage, after Jerusalem and Rome. It remains today a great centre of pilgrimage from all over Europe. The Scallop

But why a scallop?

St James is the patron saint of pilgrims; the scallop shell, worn by pilgrims is his symbol. It is said that just as the pilgrims from Jerusalem would return with a palm cross, so the pilgrims following St James’ trail to Santiago de Compostela would return with a shell.

St James the Great, Westerleigh
It is possible that the church was associated with the pilgrimage route which ran down the Cotswold Edge to Spain from Worcestershire via Bristol. The original church was a chapel of Pucklechurch, and was consecrated by the bishop of Worcestershire on April 16th 1304. At that time, it consisted of the north aisle, chancel and sanctuary. The south aisle, tower and porch were added in the fifteen cenury.

In 1863 lightning struck the church, and fire damaged much of the building; some restoration work was undertaken in 1875. However in 1885 Richard Stevens became curate, and the next year he established Westerleigh as an independent parish and undertook a series of major works of restoration. He died in 1935 aged 93.