The parish of St James Pockthorpe lies in the north of the city of Norwich, a true suburb in being outside the original mediaeval walls of the city. Part of Norwich-over-the-Water, that portion to the north of the River Wensum, St James was one of the poorer neighbourhoods of the city, a warren of yards and unsanitary living conditions. The area was the physical home of much of the city's artisan weaving industry, an industry that declined significantly and almost disappeared during the life of this transcript. A review of the baptisms show that in each decade the percentage of babies baptised to men working in the trade declined significantly from being around 50% of the area's population to almost nothing.

1810s - 43%, 1820s - 53%, 1830s - 46%, 1840s - 30%, 1850s - 21%, 1860s - 12%, 1870s - 2%

It was only the growth of the city's shoemaking industry, together with the local employment offered by Steward & Patteson's brewery that prevented the area suffering extreme deprivation following the mechanisation of northern mills that undermined the local cottage weaving industry. Today all of the slums and yards have been wiped away by postwar clearance, the forcing through of the city's inner ring road left an area which is a mixture of housing and industry.

St James' church was thankfully spared demolition following the arrival of that road but its position right alongside one of the major roundabout junctions indicates how perilously close it was. The church was declared redundant for worship, the first in the city in 1972, and in the early 1980s it was converted into Norwich's renowned Puppet Theatre. The church is almost entirely from the Perpendicular period which thrived during the 15th century. The curious polygonal top to the tower was added later, in 1743. Restorations took place in both 1842 & 1882. With conversion to a theatre the interior fittings have been dispersed to accommodate the seating. The church stands mere metres away from the busy junction of Barrack Street & Whitefriars and is flush to the pavements of the former street. With little remaining of the original churchyard it is better to be photographed from across those busy roads.