St James’ Church
Welcome to St James’ Church. We hope you will visit our beautiful church and join us in our worship.
We follow the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
Churchwarden: John Whitehead
Regular Monthly Services (currently suspended)
1st Sunday Morning Prayer 9:00am
2nd Sunday Benefice Service 10:30am (This rotates around the five churches)
3rd Sunday Holy Communion 10:30am
4th Sunday Morning Prayer 9:00am
5th Sunday Benefice Service 10:30am (This rotates around the five churches)
Other Services
May Day Weekend: Flower Festival Songs of Praise 6:30pm
September/October: Harvest Festival Songs of Praise 6:30pm
December: Carol Service 6:30pm
December 24th: Midnight Mass 10:00pm
The Village
Dadlington is the smallest village in the benefice, centred around a large village green. At the northern end of the green are St James’ church, a recently extended village hall and the Dog and Hedgehog public house. It has a population of around 300.
Life of the Church
There are a number of events that take place during the course of the year which involve parishioners, residents of the village and the wider community. These are as follows:
- Flower Festival: This takes place during the May Day Bank Holiday weekend with refreshments and sales in the adjoining village hall.
- Pancake Supper: An opportunity to indulge in various flavours of pancake on a Saturday close to Shrove Tuesday.
- Cream Tea: This takes place in the grounds of Hall Farm.
- Harvest Supper: The Monday following the Harvest Festival Songs of Praise Service sees the community gathering for a thanksgiving supper in the village hall.
In addition, there is a monthly community coffee morning on a Thursday from 10:00am, organised by the Dadlington Village Hall Committee.
History of the Village
Of Saxon origin, Dadlington was plunged into national events in 1485 when the armies of Richard III and Henry Tudor met within the old parish boundaries at the Battle of Bosworth. Recent archaeological finds have placed the field of battle on either side of the Fenn Lanes. In 2015, the cortege of the recently discovered body of Richard III paused for a short service on the green before continuing on to reinternment at Leicester Cathedral.
St James’ Church
The church dates from the 13th century and is dedicated to St James the Apostle. It has been altered due to restoration work, especially the chancel in 1886. The chancel is separated from the south chapel by a 13thcentury arcade. In 1511, the churchwardens petitioned King Henry VIII in order to be able to raise money for a chantry chapel to pray for the dead of the battle (letter of cofraternity). Copies of this letter and Henry’s reply (signet warrant) where he refers to the battlefield site as “Dadlington Field”, are displayed in the church along with a small exhibition on the battle. Two markers in the churchyard indicate the suspected locations of mass graves where the dead of the battle were interred.
The Fenn Lanes Benefice - Leicestershire 
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