St James, Bramley, is located N of Basingstoke in N Hampshire. The 12thc. church comprises a continuous nave and chancel, with a barrel vault covered by a double-pitched red tile roof. The vault and roof are punctured by two dormers to the N and one to the S. While the walls of the nave are, for the most part, rendered, those of the chancel are of exposed flint; both are reinforced by red brick buttresses along the N elevation. There are three substantial red brick additions: the W tower (1636; replacing a timber tower); the S chapel (known as the Brocas Aisle or Lady Chapel; extended and rebuilt in 1801-02 to designs by John Soane) and the S porch (1806). Although the 12thc. S doorway has been superseded, its position may be seen inside the nave; the surviving W jamb, including a carved capital, was reportedly found (but later concealed) when a Victorian heating apparatus was installed. Additionally, the church retains elements of four 12thc. windows, a pillar piscina and a font.

Bramley church was recorded in the Domesday Survey (1086). It was held by Hugh de Port, whose son granted it to the abbey of St. Vigor at Cerisy-la-Forêt in Normandy during the reign of Henry I. The Benedictine priory of West or Monk Sherborne at Pamber End (as a dependency of Cerisy) kept the advowson until its suppression in 1452. In 1462 Edward IV granted the priory and all its possessions – including Bramley – to the hospital of St. Julian or God's House in Southampton, which belonged to Queen's College, Oxford (VCH 1911).

Bullen et al. (2010) reported restorations by G. G. Scott junior in 1877-78 and by Temple Moore in 1884-91. Additional campaigns appear to have been carried out between the 1870s and 1890s at the instigation of the vicar, Rev. Charles Eddy, who was responsible for uncovering and preserving several medieval wall paintings.

The piscina (presumably just the basin) was reportedly found when the sill of the S chancel window was lowered in 1870 (Hampshire Chronicle, 29 September 1906, 9). This accounts for its damaged, fragile condition.

The 12thc. S doorway was discovered in 1874. Although nothing is currently visible on the exterior, the W jamb ‘was found to have a carved capital of a simple leaf pattern, supporting a round arch, with a bead like that on the original windows; it is now hidden by the heating apparatus’ (Hampshire Chronicle, 29 September 1906, 9).

Surviving 12thc. windows had been concealed or altered prior to 1870. The westernmost on the N side of the nave, partly blocked by the gallery of 1728, had been walled up. The easternmost window on the N side of the nave has been restored. The Hampshire Chronicle reported that it ‘had had its splay cut straight back on both sides, and a square wooden frame inserted under a low brick arch. (When the upper arch was discovered the head was found plastered over and painted red)’ (Hampshire Chronicle, 29 September 1906, 9). The N window of the chancel had been blocked up, probably by 1604. The E wall is said to have contained two round-headed windows, one above the other, with the head of the upper window visible within the roofspace.

The churchwardens’ accounts report that the font was repaired, and a lock and bolt made for it, in 1534 (VCH 1911). The Hampshire Field Club & Archaeological Society visited in 1906 and heard a report by Rev. Eddy (probably his published leaflet of 1892), as follows: 'The font is of Purbeck marble; the corner pillars are a restoration made in 1891, when a shapeless mass of brickwork was taken down, and the curious base was discovered, with the marks where the corner pillars had stood. On the west side of the basin is the Norman dog-tooth. On the east side seems to be the remnants of a lamb and a flag.’ (Hampshire Chronicle, 29 September 1906, 9).

The construction of the church, including the original windows, has been dated to c.1180 by Bullen et al. (2010).

Historic England (List Entry) has dated the pillar piscina to the 13thc., while Pevsner & Lloyd (1967, followed by Bullen et al., 2010) thought the capital ‘may be Norman’. VCH (1911) dated the basin to the late 12thc., but noted that it must have originally projected further since it has lost its drain. The basin is probably contemporary with the church, c.1180, while its Early English style setting is Victorian.

The font may be dated c.1200. The Rev. Charles Eddy identified the animal on the W face as a lamb with a flag, or Agnus Dei (see History). This has been followed by later writers, including VCH (1911) and Bullen et al. (2010), and seems to be the most credible interpretation of the iconography. While arcading is a widespread motif on both Purbeck and Sussex marble fonts, gadrooning is more unusual. It may be seen on the nearby font of Sherbourne St John.