History

The original church of St Thomas Beckett at Grindon itself is now a ruin, and was replaced by a church at Thorpe Thewles in the middle of the 19th century. The altar stone from the original church is still in the present church of 1886-7 by R J Johnson. It is listed grade II. The parish includes the Wynyard Estate, former home of the Londonderry family, including the beautiful chapel at Wynyard Hall, as well as the majority of the new housing developments at Wynyard.

St James is part of a group of five churches now working together as a single parish. The group also includes All Saints Great Stainton, St Cuthbert Redmarshall, St John the Divine Stillington, and St Peter Bishopton, all within Stockton deanery.