Monument Type(s):

• PARISH CHURCH (circa 1155, restored in 1890, Medieval to Late 19th century - 1066 AD to 1899 AD) + Sci.Date

Summary

The Church of the Benedictine Priory (PRN 03058), part incorporated into a house after the Dissolution, and now a Parish Church. Built c 1155 and restored in 1890, it is protected by Grade I Listing.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA4820 - 2000 Dendro Dating of Roof Timbers at St Mary's Church, Bromfield by English Heritage
• ESA4826 - 2002 Building Recording of Foxe House and Chancel roof of St Mary's Church, Bromfield
• ESA5868 - 2001 WB on drainage works at St Mary's Church, Bromfield by Marches Archaeology
• ESA5920 - 2004 WB on drainage works on the north side of St Mary's Church, Bromfield by Marches Archaeology

Description

Benedictine Priory church, now Parish Church. c1155, with C13 and C16 additions. Restored 1890, by C Hodgson-Fower? Rubble and ashlar sandstone; plain tile roof. North-west tower, nave, north aisle and chancel. Blocked Norman chancel arch forms east end, with large round arch to north; tower forming porch, to north-west, probably late C13. South transept replaced by C16 house built by Charles Foxe after the Dissolution, but destroyed by fire late C17: now fragmentary with mullion and transom windows.
INTERIOR: painted plaster ceiling c1672 by Thomas Francis, with Angels with scrolls, the Symbol of the Trinity and clouds; c1700 communion rail with heavy twisted balusters ; glass by Kempe in west window and north aisle, with C16 Flemish roundels in Vestry. (Cranage, D. H. S., : An Architectural Account of the Churches of Shropshire: PP. 70-76) <2>

Dendrochronology survey carried out in 2000 to ascertain the date of construction of the nave roof of St Mary’s Church, Bromfield. Ten samples were taken in total, of which nine had sufficient rings to merit measurement, although none retained sapwood or the heartwood sapwood boundary. The roof dates to the later 16th and/ or the early 17th century, and was built in what could be considered an archaic style, as collar arch-braced roofs were more commonly 14th century in date.->

->Survey was requested partly to test whether the roof dates to AD 1577, as indicated by inscriptions carved on collars and timber corbels. The results of the survey indicate construction of the nave roof after AD 1559, with a single purlin dating to after AD 1599 and one principal rafter felled after AD 1646. The timbers which post-date AD 1577 may reflect documented repairs made to the church in the mid-C17 following a fire and prior to the church's reconsecration in AD 1658<5>

Building recording carried out as part of repair and consolidation works on the Foxe house at St Mary’s church, Bromfield. A photographic record of the chancel roof was produced. The chancel trusses were of high quality and were clearly associated with the return of the church use of the former chapel after a century of use as a domestic residence. <6>

A 2001 watching brief found significant medieval remains, including walls and foundations presumably associated with the medieval chancel. <7>

A 2004 watching brief on drainage works around the north side of the church encountered the foundation for a buttress. This consisted of at least two courses of squared red sandstone, the top course of which was directly below the concrete path surrounding the church; the base of the foundation was below the depth of the excavation. The watching brief also recorded two brick burial vaults and numerous skeletons. <8>

A programme of geophysical and topographic survey was undertaken in 2014 to the east and west of St Mary's Church at Bromfield. ->

-> Written sources indicate that Bromfield may have been the site of a castle utilised during the conflict fought between the forces of King Stephen and supporters of the Angevin Empress Matilda. The exact site of the castle, if any such monument did indeed exist, is not known but archaeological and historical sources suggest that during ‘the Anarchy’ fortification and garrisoning of churches was not uncommon. An undated map, probably dating to the late 17th century, depicts the church including headstones and chest tombs in the graveyard. ->

-> Following the reformation, the church and priory were leased to Charles Foxe who purchased the property in 1558 and converted the buildings into a private residence. Elements of Foxe’s conversion can still be seen to the south of the present church building which was reverted back to religious usage following a fire in the seventeenth century. ->

-> Immediately adjacent to the western end of the church a large mound was surveyed, formed by gently sloping banks on all sides. This was considered most likely to be the result of landscaping within the churchyard. <13>

Photograph taken 3rd June 2015. <15>

Photographs of nave and chancel interior, chancel ceiling. <16>

Shropshire Archives hold a watercolour of Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bromfield (Reference 6001/372/1/130), by Reverend Edward Williams, dated to 1789. A small-scale thumbnail can be found via their online catalogue: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/CCA_X6001_19_372A_130 <17>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.