Fulbrook lies across the River Windrush immediately to the north west of Burford in the Costswolds, about 18 mi W of Oxford. The church of St James the Great lies near the centre of the village, just off the main road. Herringbone courses externally visible in the lower part of the S nave wall suggest a late 11thc. or early 12thc. phase. Otherwise there is Transitional nave and N aisle, 13thc. chancel, 14thc. N. chapel, and 15thc. tower built inside the W end of the nave. In the N wall of the N aisle is a blocked plain round-headed doorway. At the E end of the S wall of the nave, adjoining the chancel arch, is a large round-headed opening which appears to be Romanesque, but is devoid of sculpture. The chancel arch is round-headed, but the details are firmly 13thc. (e.g. bell capitals and filleted rolls), and so it will not be described further. Nevertheless, relevant features to this Corpus include the font, S doorway and N arcade.

In 1086 DB records that Roger d'Ivry held Fulbrook as four manors. In 1167-1172 the church of Burford, together with the chapelry of Fulbrook, were given by William, Earl of Gloucester to Keynsham Abbey, which held the advowson until the Reformation. It was the subject of restorations in 1827 by Jones and in 1893 by Waller.

The general architectural development of the church strikingly resembles that of Black Bourton. As at Swinbrook, we have the problem of a very late Romanesque or Transitional N arcade associated with a chancel arch which must be only very slightly later, but which has more unambiguously Early English details.

The font is much travelled; in 1827 it was adjacent to the E column of the arcade; by 1893 it was in the NW corner of the N aisle; by 2024 it was at the NW end of the nave. The last move was due to the creation of catering facilities in the NW corner of the N aisle. This series of moves may explain why the base appears to be a modern replacement.