How did the road get its name?
St James Close is so-called because of its proximity to the Church of St James.
When did housing development begin?
In the post Second World War, St James Close was the third phase of Council development. It comprised 24 houses built in a crescent off Brewers Lane in 1962. The development caused much controversy when it was learned that the Rural District Council intended to use its power of compulsory purchase to acquire the site, known as Wheatley’s Orchard, in the centre of the village. Some people believed that the land once formed part of a village green and should therefore be preserved as an open space, but in fact it had always been in private ownership. Strong protests were heard, a petition was organized, a public meeting was held and the scheme was temporarily shelved. But it was not long before the plan was reintroduced; this time there was little opposition and building went ahead.
Further information about the road may be found in the chapter called "Council Housing in Badsey & Aldington" by Will Dallimore, in Aldington and Badsey: Villages in the Vale - A Tapestry of Local History.
Numbering system
The entrances to the first three houses and the last two houses of St James Close are actually on the north side of Brewers Lane. Numbering begins at Number 1 and goes in an anti-clockwise direction round the crescent.
19th and early 20th century auctions and ownership
In 1812, at the time of the Badsey Enclosure Act, this plot of land was an old enclosure which belonged to Thomas Byrd. It was called Stable and Dovecote Close and amounted to 2a 1r 12p. At some stage in the early part of the 20th century, the land was bought by Horace Wheatley and remained in the Wheatley family until the 1960s; it was known as Wheatley’s Orchard. A dovecote, which was demolished in the 1960s, stood in the back garden of what is now number 22.
