In 1875, the mediaeval church at Bix Bottom was abandoned and replaced by a new church on Bix Common dedicated to St James. This was in response to the shift of population away from the valley and up the hill, The building was paid for by its patron, the sixth earl of Macclesfield, whose son, Hon. Algernon Robert Parker, became rector in 1877. The cost of the building was about £2,400
Relics from the old church were incorporated into the new building.
- The Norman tub font from St james Bix Brand is just inside the entrance to the new church.
- The piscine, which is a small round wash basin formerly let into the walls of the sanctuary and into which was ;pored any unused consecrated wine is secure within the vestry.
- The chalice
- Two stained glass panels in the windows on the north side of the nave came from the old church at Bix Brand. These glass panels date back to 1530, when they were two of the 384 panels of the great Cloister at the Charterhouse at Louvain, now Leuven, north east of Brussels. These buildings were destroyed in the 18th century at the dissolution of Belgian monasteries.
The rectory is now called Bix Hall and is situated between Bix Common and Bix Bottom. When Charles Formby (1911-1937) became rector, he arranged for the sale of the rectory and another, “the Old Rectory” to be built just off the north east corner of the common field.
The roof, bell tower and interior of the church was substantially refurbished in 2010