St. James's Church at Pentonville was a congregation of the Church of England with a churchyard cemetery. It is documented as being called St James' the Lesser. The St. James' Church, Pentonville was also called early its history as Pentonville Chapel or St James Chapel, Pentonville and it was used as a chapel to ease the nearby St. James' Church at Clerkenwell's congregation. The church was built from 1778 to 1792. This chapel opened in 1788 and was consecrated for use by the Church of England in 1791 and made a Parish in 1854. At one time, this beautiful yellow brick church with high arched windows was the center of this community and often the subject of famous artists' paintings. The church grounds became public garden at the end of 19th century. The church building was abandoned in 1978, destroyed by fire, and in 1984 demolished. Today, Grimaldi Park is on the site of the cemetery with the famous circus clown Joseph Grimaldi's grave site being preserved; he died in 1837. An office building was built on the site of the church and once called the Grimaldi Building. At one time, the church served as the official church of the International Circus Clown's Club and held an annual service for circus members. In 2010 the park was refurnished and sculptures being added. Sources say there are more than a dozen grave markers up against a fence by a basketball court with death dates as early as 1807; it is no known if these are actual graves or where markers were moved when making the park. Most the names and dates can not be read. Old early 20th century photographs show hundreds of upright grave markers behind a wrought iron fence on the side of the church as well as in the back. The London Metropolitan Archives has records of all the burials of the church along various other records. One source states the cemetery contained mainly poor Irish and there was an usual large number of graves of children under the age of two years old.

Address of building on the site is 154 A Pentonville, Kings Cross, London N1 9JE.