The church is a grade II* listed building.

[1] The church was originally built from the 13th to 15th centuries.

[1] On 24 February 1950, the church was designated a grade II* listed building.

[1] The Church of St James the Great is part of the Parish of St. James and St. Paul Colchester in the Archdeaconry of Colchester in the Diocese of Chelmsford.

[2] As it rejects the ordination of women, the parish receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Richborough (currently Norman Banks).