At the side of the O Burgo River and together with the bridge that crosses it, there lies this church whose patron saint is the apostle St. James.
Its location at the bottom of the river, in an area less exposed to inclemency and the attacks of enemies that arrived by sea, give this area power at the beginning of the Middle Ages to the detriment of the city of A Coruña, which was more exposed to these attacks. This location is also related to the English Way, because pilgrims from the north of Europe would come either by boat or walking having disembarked in A Coruña.
The temple existed in 1160 when King Fernando II ceded it as a donation to the archipishopric Santiago de Compostela. It belonged to the order of the Temple, as did its neighbouring church on the other side of the river, the church of Santa Maria do Temple.
It’s a simple and austere temple, with a Latin cross floor plan but with three apses, which could indicate that its original floor plan could have been that of a basilica with three naves that later renovations modified substantially. In the door of the southern side, the Roman tympanum remains, extremely withered by erosion, with an Agnus Dei figure. The lamb carries a cross with its front legs is surrounded by flowers. It is a unique figure.