St James' Church stands at 173 King Street in Sydney, near Hyde Park. Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned it in 1819 as a courthouse, designed by Francis Greenway, but it was converted into a church. Convict labor built it from 1820 to 1824, and Samuel Marsden consecrated it on 11 February 1824.
It is a Georgian town church in the classical tradition, built of local brick with pilasters, round-arched windows and Doric porticos. The spire is 150 feet (46 meters) tall. The gallery of western red cedar is the only original gallery that remains. Later additions include a coffered ceiling in 1882 and an interior transformed by John H. Buckeridge by 1901. Varney Parkes built the spire and tower entrance in 1894.
The undercroft has groin vaults, and the church has more than 300 memorials. It is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register and remains an Anglican parish church.
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