A Renga for St James was the first work commissioned for St James Place in 2009, as part of the St James Collection. The Renga was designed to form a temporary installation on the hoardings alongside the river Wensum.

This Renga word-map was conceived by Alec Finlay and Cath Campbell as a poem to describe the character of the location. It is composed of linked verses on many different themes – including history, topography, everyday life, economy and ecology.

The Renga was written on site from 6 – 9 July 2009, by participants drawn from businesses within St James Place and other people interested in the site and the project and led by renga-master Ken Cockburn.

The Renga was removed in May 2020 whilst building work on a new housing development started. It has been much enjoyed by many passers by including groups of school children who have used it to inspire their own poems.