St James' Church is located at 173 King Street, Sydney, in the legal and commercial district, near Hyde Park and adjoining Queen's Square, adjacent to the Greenway Wing of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

[19] Between the three windows which at that time occupied the eastern wall, there were two large panels displaying the words of the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed and the Ten Commandments.

[19] St James' suffered from a major scandal in the late 1820s ("a period of personal quarrels and violent newspaper controversies")[22] when Commissioner Bigge's secretary and brother-in-law, Thomas Hobbes Scott, who had been made Archdeacon of New South Wales in 1825, came into conflict with a parishioner, Edward Smith Hall.

[18] Soon after this dramatic event, and while the church was still in mourning, William Grant Broughton was installed as Bishop of Australia during a service in St James' lasting five hours.

[26][29] In 1839, Robert Allwood, educated at Eton College and the University of Cambridge, arrived in Sydney[15][30] and was appointed to St James' by William Broughton,[15] in which parish he served for 44 years until his retirement in 1884.

[31] In 1848, St James' was the venue for a full military funeral, "attended by 150 carriages"[32] and in 1878 Allwood officiated at the wedding of Nora Robinson and Alexander Kirkman Finlay.

[36] Unlike Hill, Allwood advocated the principles of the Oxford Movement (also known as "Tractarianism" after its publication of Tracts for the Times), which stressed the historical continuity of the Church of England, and placed a high importance upon the sacraments and the liturgy.

[49] Carr Smith had brought with him from England the "most recent developments" in the restoration of ancient liturgy, so he was able to help St James' play a "notable part" in Sydney's revival of Anglo-Catholicism, setting "new standards of ceremonial".

The choir was ornamented with a mosaic floor and ornate brasswork which complemented the large brass eagle lectern by the English ecclesiastical suppliers, J. Wippell and Company, that commemorated Canon Robert Allwood.

During World War II, for example, the crypt was used as a "Hostel for Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen"[69] and the ninth rector, Edwin John Davidson, incumbent during that period, "gained fame" for the church with his "pungent sermons on current affairs".

[71] St James' was the locus of many notable events throughout the 20th century, including weddings and funerals of famous, significant or notorious people, visits from theologians and senior clerics and, when needed, services for the Lutheran communities.

[72] At the wedding of singer Gladys Moncrieff and Tom Moore on 20 May 1924, the crowd in the streets nearby was so large that traffic was brought to a standstill, several women fell and two were so badly hurt they were taken to hospital.

In 1950, four thousand people were reported to have lined the streets after the state funeral at St James' of the first Minister for Sweden in Australia, Constans Lundquist, who died suddenly at the Swedish Legation in Sydney.

[86] In addition, music was offered to the wider community in the form of recitals, often in ways that elucidate the liturgy and take advantage of church acoustics and sacred settings.

[93] Since early in the 20th century, service to the community has included visits to those imprisoned or ill as well as practical help to the city's homeless[94][95][96] and an annual schedule of educational seminars at the St James' Institute.

[107][108] In 1973, the church appeared on a 50 cent postage stamp, one of four in a series illustrating Australian architecture issued to commemorate the opening of the Sydney Opera House.

[51][116] Relying on the "virtues of simplicity and proportion to achieve his end",[117] Greenway maintained the classical tradition, unaffected by the Revivalist styles that were being promoted in London at the time he arrived in the colony.

[4] St James' originally took the form of a simple rectangular block, without transepts or chancel, with a tower at the western end and a classical portico of the Doric order on either side.

With no structural choir area, the chancel is built out and into the body of the church as a platform enclosed within gated wrought iron and brass railings and approached by steps.

It has been used for many purposes: as a residence by the widow of Richard Hill and later by a verger; by Canon Allwood as a part-time bedroom; for the parish's schools; and as a shelter by Australian, American and British armed forces during the two world wars.

For example, the large stained glass window of Saint George on the northern wall is a memorial to Keith Kinnaird Mackellar, who died in the Second Boer War aged 20.

[137] The first monument erected in the church was the memorial to Commodore Sir James Brisbane, who died in Sydney on his way to serve in South America in command of HMS Warspite.

[151][152] The jury said that the restoration work showed "consummate care by the architect, the engineer and the builder in conserving the original structure and fabric of the building, improving its strength, performance and waterproofing".

The Spanish slates, installed in the 1970s, proved not to be durable in Sydney's climate due to their high iron content and their poor fixing had resulted in further damage.

"[163] Such an adherence to the importance of the sacred and the sublime in worship remains in sharp contradistinction to practice in the surrounding mostly evangelical diocese, which typically eschews beauty and holds to an "ultra-low ecclesiastical aesthetic" that is combined with "ultra-conservative social values".

"[20] Nevertheless, the congregation provides volunteer labour and donates funds for many of church's activities, including laundry work, library administration, flower arrangements, bell ringing, singing in the parish choir and hospitality for the Sister Freda mission.

[67] In the 20th, it was noted that the "relationship of law and religion" was one of "two co-operating forces, approaching, from different sides, a problem which was common to them both of securing right conduct";[183] and in the 21st century, the Governor still attends special services.

Educational activities for adults are offered through the St James' Institute which provides a range of programs open to all to explore the Christian faith and engage in debate about contemporary issues from a theological perspective.

[220] In January, during the summer holiday period, St James' presents three full orchestral Masses during which liturgical music by composers such as Mozart, Haydn and Schubert is used for its original purpose and incorporated into the service.

[223] It has recorded CDs,[224] performed with international touring groups such as with the Tallis Scholars' Summer School and broadcast on ABC Radio, both in their own right as well as with leading ensembles such as Australian Baroque Brass.