James Brooks (1825–1901) was an influential English Gothic Revival architect and designer. Brooks established his reputation through a series of landmark churches built in the East End of London in the 1860 and 1870s, and was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal in 1895.

The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is given for a distinguished body of work rather than for one building and is therefore not awarded for merely being currently fashionable.