The church of St James at Cameley dates is ancient and is believed to date from at least the 13th century, although the south door is dated to 1180 the porch having been rebuilt in 1620 and there is a Saxon coffin lid in the porch’s floor. In 1819 a new south gallery was added. The centre of the village moved to be alongside the main road (A37) at Temple Cloud leaving the church isolated about 1km west of the main centre of population.
In 1925 a subsidiary church, as a chapel-of-ease, was built at Temple Cloud, dedicated to St Barnabas. St James remained the parish church but was closed 1956-1960 and once repaired and restored re-opened. In 1980 it was closed and then transferred to The Churches Conservation Trust, while remaining consecrated and used for worship from time to time.
The church is notable for its wall-paintings some of which are dated to the 13th and early 14th century. These had been hidden by whitewash for centuries until the 1960s. The churchyard has about 200 memorials and inside the church are some ledger stones and wall plaques. The church itself is Grade I listed by Historic England and three of the surviving memorials are Grade II listed.
