Newchapel St James
The village of Newchapel was formerly called Thursfield and is documented in the doomsday book of 1088. It is possible that the first chapel built in the area dates back to 1288. It was in this year during the reign of Edward I that a document called "Taxates Ecclesiastics" states that a small chapel was built at the cost of £26 13s 6d.

During this period Thursfield was part of the parish of Wolstanton and as there was no other chapel in the area, it may well of been built on the site now occupied by St James. In 1558 during the reign of Elizabeth I a new "stone" chapel was built, and so the village of Newchapel was born. The stone chapel was replaced by a modern brick church in 1766/7. The church consisted of a large porch, vestry room and gallery, over which was a cupola bell tower. St James became it's own parish on July 14th 1846 and the Rev Thurston Forshaw moved into the vicarage in 1850 when it was built at a cost of £700. Rev Forshaw died in 1878 and is buried along with his family in the churchyard. This church was replaced with the current one in 1880 at a cost of £2,675 and was concecrated on 14th February 1880. In 1914 Robert Heath Esq laid the foundation stone for the new chancel, vestries and organ chamber costing £1,370.