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The church of St. James in Nether Worton is a small building comprising nave, short chancel, narrow north and south aisles, and a south-west tower of which the lower stage forms an entrance porch; the west door opens into an attached schoolroom. The bases of the south arcade piers show that the 12th-century church comprised at least a nave and aisle of three bays, presumably with a chancel. The south doorway, though probably not in situ, was built in the 13th century, but the apparently 13th-century blind arches on the east walls of the aisles may be later, decorative work. In the early 14th century the nave arcades and chancel arch were rebuilt, and square-headed windows inserted in the aisles. In 1630, at the expense of Robert Parsons, a small tower was built into the west bay of the south aisle, the 13th-century south doorway forming its entrance. At an unknown date before the late 18th century the medieval chancel was demolished and rebuilt as a shallow recess, only 5ft. deep, with a re-used 14th-century east window. In 1883 it was said that there was 'not a fitting in the church worthy of the House of God', and a restoration was carried out, which included further reconstruction of the east window, the renewal of the altar rails and pulpit, the creation of a railed choir in the body of the nave, and the reflooring of the church. 

The monuments include 17th-century floor slabs, mostly illegible, to members of the Parsons and Draper families and to Francis Osborne (d. 1659), an elaborate mural tablet to William Wilson (d. 1821) by Henry Westmacott of London, and memorials to Joseph Wilson (d. 1855), his family, and members of the Schuster family. On the north wall is a large mural monochrome by Grace Wilson, based on a painting by Raphael of Christ bearing the Cross. The font is modern, but the earlier, 18th-century, font, with a small fluted bowl and baluster stem, survives in the north-west corner of the church. There are two bells, the older dated 1601. The plate includes a chalice of c. 1680. The 18thcentury clock is said to have been originally in Heythrop House.

Historical information about St. James' Church is provided by British history Online. A P Baggs, Christina Colvin, H M Colvin, Janet Cooper, C J Day, Nesta Selwyn and A Tomkinson, 'Parishes: Nether Worton', in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 11, Wootton Hundred (Northern Part), ed. Alan Crossley (London, 1983), pp. 285-293. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol11/pp285-293 [accessed 22 April 2023].

St. James' Church is listed Grade II* For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ST JAMES, Worton - 1052460 | Historic England.

For more information about St. James' Church see Parishes: Nether Worton | British History Online (british-history.ac.uk).