BROMSGROVE
Bremesgrave (xi cent.); Brumesgrave (xiii cent.);
Brymmesgrove (xv cent.).
From the ancient parish of Bromsgrove the civil
parish of North Bromsgrove was formed in 1894, (fn. 1)
Catshill, a separate ecclesiastical parish since 1844, (fn. 2)
being included in it in 1895. In 1880 Crowfield
was transferred from Dodderhill to Bromsgrove and
at the same date part of Chaddesley Wood, formerly
in Upton Warren, became part of Bromsgrove. Two
years later parts of Bromsgrove were transferred to
Upton Warren. (fn. 3)
The Spadesbourne brook, rising in the Lickey
Hills, flows south-west through the parish, and passing through the centre of the town of Bromsgrove, is
joined there by the Battlefield brook, which comes
from Chadwick, the united streams forming the River
Salwarpe. Dyers Bridge, at the bottom of the town,
which in 1778 was the largest bridge in the parish,
was built of sandstone in one span of 20 ft. It formed
the boundary between the manors of Bromsgrove and
Dyers.
The land falls from 940 ft. at Windmill Hill in
the north to the south, the lowest point, 261 ft.,
being in the town of Bromsgrove. The parish lies
on the Keuper Marls and Sandstone, and much of
the land in the rural districts is agricultural. Catshill
is on the Bunter Pebble Beds, and the soil is loam
and clay, producing crops of wheat and turnips.
The parishes of Bromsgrove and North Bromsgrove
cover an area of 11,656 acres, (fn. 4) of which Bromsgrove
includes 196½ acres of arable land and 396¾ acres
of permanent grass, while North Bromsgrove has
3,241¾ acres of arable, 4,998¾ of permanent grass
and 434½ of woods and plantations. (fn. 5) Bromsgrove
was formerly divided into yields named Burnford,
Fockbury, (fn. 6) Catshill, Chadwick, Shepley, Burcot, (fn. 7) Padestones or Spadesbourne, Timberhonger, Woodcote
and Town Yield, which were recognized at least as
late as the end of the 18th century, (fn. 8) and some of
which are hamlets of Bromsgrove at the present day. (fn. 9)
Bromsgrove was inclosed under an Act of 1799, the
award being dated 25 December 1802. (fn. 10) The award
for Bonehill is dated 19 November 1813, that for
Woodcote Green Common, Great Wood, Little
Wood and Hopping Hill Coppice 5 July 1855, and
for Chadwick, including parts of Lickey, (fn. 11) Etchy and
Wildmoor, 10 December 1795. (fn. 12)
In the 18th century the 'customary or Whitsun
ale' was no longer held in the parish, but the
custom survived among the farmers of distributing all
the milk of their cows on Whitsunday morning to
any of their poor neighbours who chose to go for it. (fn. 13)
The town of Bromsgrove is situated about 6 miles
north of Droitwich, upon the Worcester and Birmingham road, along which the chief and older
part of the town lies. The church stands in a
commanding position on the summit of rising ground
to the south of the main road, which in its course
through the town is known as Worcester Street, (fn. 14)
and is approached from St. John Street, a turning
leading southwards out of the Market Place by a
picturesque flight of steps. On the north side of
St. John Street is a house with a brick nogged halftimber gable end, on the tie-beam of which is carved
R. D. 1674. The lower part of the house has been
faced with red sandstone and all the openings appear
to be modern. At the junction of St. John Street
with the Market Place a stream which runs at the
back of the houses in Worcester Street is crossed by
a rebuilt bridge. A stone tablet preserved from the
former bridge and reset in the parapet records its
erection in the year 1755 with the names of the
churchwardens of that date. The town hall is a
dreary building coated with unpainted stucco, standing
in Worcester Street at the corner of the Market
Place. At the opposite corner of the Market Place
is a picturesque group of gabled half-timber houses
probably dating from the early years of the 17th
century. They are of three stories with tiled roofs,
but appear to have been much tampered with and
restored. In the same street is some excellent
Georgian work, notably the Red Lion and Green
Dragon Inns. Much half-timber work still survives,
of which the best example is, perhaps, the Castle
Inn and the two adjoining houses. These are of
three stories, the upper stories gabled and oversailing,
supported by console brackets. In Hanover Street is
a row of red brick cottages. An oval tablet in the
wall is inscribed 'Neare St Johns Cross Hanover
Street Anno Domini 1715.' The Grammar School
stands on the east side of the Worcester Street, near
the southern extremity of the town. The oldest
part of the buildings dates from 1693 and contains
the original schoolroom; this block was originally of
two stories, with an attic, but an extra story has
been added. A portion of the head master's house
appears to be of the same date.
At the north of the town, on the east side of the
Birmingham road, is the modern church of All Saints.
The building occupied by Lloyds Bank at the corner
of Worcester Street and the road leading to the railway station is constructed out of the materials of the
Hop Pole Inn, a 16th-century structure of halftimber taken down about 1870 and re-erected. The
design appears to have been much altered in the process of re-erection. The almshouses in the Alcester
road are modern—one pair was erected in 1820,
another pair in 1825 and a third pair in 1842.
The remaining blocks were built in 1883. The
railway station is about a mile to the east of the
town and is really in Finstall, formerly a hamlet in
the parish of Stoke Prior, but now a separate ecclesiastical parish. The district which has sprung up
in the neighbourhood is known as Aston Fields. At
Great Dodford are remains of the priory of Augustine canons established here at the end of the 12th
century and incorporated in 1464 with Halesowen
Abbey. (fn. 15) The part remaining is of stone and may
perhaps have been the refectory. At the southeast angle are buttresses of two offsets and at the
south-west is a doorway with a chamfered twocentred segmental head and jambs. In the 16th
century the buildings appear to have been razed to
the ground with the exception of this portion, which
was then converted into a dwelling-house. There is
a large stone chimney stack on the south with three
diagonal shafts of brick and a smaller stack with
similar shafts to the west of this; both belong to the
16th-century reconstruction. At the east end of
this main block is a wing of half-timber work projecting northwards, which does not appear to be part
of the original establishment. The course of the
surrounding moat can still be traced at the south-east,
and it seems not improbable that the present road to
the west of the house follows the line of the moat on
this side. Chadwick Manor House, about 3½ miles
north of Bromsgrove, on the west side of the Halesowen road, is a late 17th-century building of brick
with stone dressings. Chadwick Grange is a modern
farm-house of no particular interest.
Sarah Bache, the hymn-writer, was born at Bromsgrove about 1771, (fn. 16) as were also John Flavel, the
Presbyterian divine, about 1630, and William Dugard,
the 17th-century schoolmaster and printer. (fn. 17) Benjamin Maund, botanist and fellow of the Linnean
Society, carried on the combined businesses of chemist,
bookseller, printer and publisher in the town in the
middle of the 19th century, (fn. 18) and Elijah Walton
the artist resided at Bromsgrove Lickey during the
last years of his life, and died there in 1880. (fn. 19)
Among former place-names in the parish were
Asseberga and Tuneslega (xi cent.) (fn. 20) ; Wrante and
Brandelay (xiii cent.); Kingstotenhull, Chirnemore
Bagfeld, Barneslade, Olde Lynde, Le Beokes, Tylamesland, Baynardesgrove and Lamesey (xv cent.) (fn. 21) ;
Le Stapull and Kylbarnes (xvi cent.). (fn. 22)
BOROUGH
There is evidence that a borough
existed at Bromsgrove during the 12th
and 13th centuries, but it was short
lived, and little is known of its history. The mentior
of a reeve and beadle in the manor in 1086 indicates
that it was even then of somewhat greater importance
than an ordinary royal manor. (fn. 23) In 1156 the 'men
of Bromsgrove' paid 10s. to the Sheriff of Worcestershire, (fn. 24) in 1169 the 'vill of Bromsgrove' rendered
account of £4, (fn. 25) and during the latter part of the
century 'the men of Bromsgrove' or 'the town of
Bromsgrove' paid tallage which amounted to 20
marks with Norton in 1177, (fn. 26) to 8 marks in 1187, (fn. 27)
100s. in 1195 (fn. 28) and £7 12s. 2d. two years later. (fn. 29)
After this time, possibly owing to the fact that the
manor was granted out by the Crown, the prosperity
of the town diminished, and by 1227 its inhabitants
had become so poor that tallage was reduced from
37 to 20 marks, and afterwards from 27½ to 18
marks. (fn. 30) Later an attempt was made to restore the
fortunes of the town, and Henry III in 1260–1
granted the manor to the men of Bromsgrove at fee
farm for five years, (fn. 31) and two members, Thomas
Rastel and Thomas de Burneford, represented the
borough in the Parliament of 1295. (fn. 32) This was,
however, the only occasion on which Bromsgrove
returned members.
In the 15th and 16th centuries three courts were
held for the borough—the great court, the smaller
court and the view of frankpledge. The great courts
were held at Lickey, and at them were elected the
bailiff, reeve, two constables and two aletasters, the
common name for the last being 'crab nabbers.' (fn. 33)
John Lacey, writing in 1778, said that the Town
Yield, then containing about 400 houses, was governed
by a bailiff, recorder, alderman and other officers,
and that as they then had no powers a proverb had
arisen, 'The bailiff of Bromsgrove has no fellow.' (fn. 34)
The bailiffs continued, however, to hold a court in
the town hall for the recovery of small debts every
three weeks. (fn. 35) Prattinton, writing a little later,
states that a court leet and court baron were then
held at Whitsuntide and Michaelmas. (fn. 36) Courts leet
are held at the present day, and the bailiff and other
officers are duly elected, the jury making their presentments at the half-yearly courts. (fn. 37)
James I granted the tolls to John How of Longer
Castle, whose heirs sold them to Thomas Earl of
Plymouth, who continued to take them until they
were abolished. (fn. 38) The tolls were regulated by an
Act of 1816, (fn. 39) and three years later the royal family
was exempted from paying tolls. (fn. 40)
In 1533 Bromsgrove is mentioned as one of the
towns in Worcestershire in which cloth was permitted
to be manufactured, (fn. 41) and a flourishing trade in narrow
cloth and friezes then existed, and continued till
towards the end of the 18th century. In 1778 the
manufacture of linsey occupied only about 140 hands,
while that of linen employed about 180 hands, and the
making of nails about 900 hands. (fn. 42) This last had
already been introduced in the 17th century, (fn. 43) and
was, until the end of the 19th century, the staple
trade of the town. There are now also a silk button
manufactory and a brewery.
The right to hold a weekly market at Bromsgrove
on Wednesdays was granted in 1200 to Hugh
Bardulf, (fn. 44) and in 1317 John de Mortimer obtained
from the king a Tuesday market and a fair for three
days at the feast of the Decollation of St. John the
Baptist (29 August). (fn. 45) In 1468 the market seems to
have been held on Thursday. (fn. 46) The market day
was Tuesday in 1792, (fn. 47) and has so remained to the
present day. Fairs were held on 24 June and
1 October in 1792, (fn. 48) and in 1814, (fn. 49) and on 24 June
in 1888. (fn. 50) The June fair is still continued as a
horse and pleasure fair.
A Statute fair for the hiring of servants was first
held on 24 September 1777 and continued to be
held on the Wednesday before Michaelmas Day.
Lacey states that in 1778 'a rabbling kind of wake'
was held on the third Sunday in July at a place
called Sythemore near the church, and also at Catshill, 2 miles out of the town, where bull baiting,
bowling, wrestling and cock fighting took place. He
adds that on Shrove Tuesday 'that most cruel and
inhuman, cowardly and shameful pastime of throwing
at cocks is used throughout the parish to the great
grief and discontent of all good Christian people.' (fn. 51)
Cattle fairs are now held on alternate Tuesdays,
except in December, when they are held on the first
three Tuesdays of the month.
In 1846 an Act was passed for improving the
town of Bromsgrove, (fn. 52) and under the Local Government Act of 1858 it became a separate district.
Provisional orders were made in 1861 and 1863 for
extending the boundaries of the district. (fn. 53) The
urban district was governed by a local board of
fifteen members and the rural district by one of
twelve members, but under the provisions of the
Local Government Act of 1894 these have been
superseded by the urban district councils of Bromsgrove and North Bromsgrove.
The town is lighted with gas by the Bromsgrove
Gas Light and Coke Company, incorporated in
1882. (fn. 54) An Act was first passed in 1866 to enable
the town to obtain a better water supply, (fn. 55) and
water is now obtained from the East Worcestershire
Water Works, the reservoirs of which are situated at
the top of the Lickey and at Burcot and Headless
Cross.
A cemetery under the control of the Bromsgrove
Burial Joint Committee was formed in 1857, and
in 1878 the volunteer fire brigade was established
with two manual engines and a fire escape. The
petty sessions formerly held in the old town hall are
now held in the public office adjoining the police
station erected in 1890. The Institute, founded in
1859, was removed to New Road in 1894, and the
school of art adjoining it was built in 1895. In the
same road is the cottage hospital, founded in 1878
at Mount Pleasant and removed in 1891 to its present
site.
A great cross standing before the market-house
was taken down in 1832, at which time the present
town hall was built. A prison called the Tolhouse
is mentioned in 1468. (fn. 56)
MANORS
BROMSGROVE was among the possessions of Ethelric, son of Ethelmund,
who in 804 announced his intention of
giving eleven 'manses' at Bromsgrove and Feckenham
(Feccanhom) to Wœrferth for his life with reversion to
the church of Worcester. (fn. 57) According to the annals
of Worcester Priory, this disposition of Bromsgrove
had been ordained by Ethelmund in his will, (fn. 58) but
there is no evidence that it ever took effect. According
to an endorsement of a charter relating to Inkberrow,
Bromsgrove afterwards belonged to Wulfheard, son of
Cussa, and was given by him at the request of King
Ceolwulf I of Mercia (821–3) to Heaberht or Eadberht
Bishop of Worcester in exchange for Inkberrow. (fn. 59)
In the time of King Edward the Confessor
Bromsgrove was held by Earl Edwin, but it passed at
the Conquest into the hands of the king, and in 1086
heads the list of the king's lands in Worcestershire.
Attached to it were eighteen berewicks, which, with
the manor lands, were assessed at 30 hides. (fn. 60) To the
manor belonged 13 salt-pans in Droitwich and three
salt workers who rendered 300 mits of salt. (fn. 61) The
manor also contained four eyries of hawks. It
evidently remained in the hands of the Crown until
the beginning of the 13th century. (fn. 62) In 1176 lands
to the value of £50 in this manor and Martley were
granted to Roger de Mortimer by Henry II, (fn. 63) and he
was still in possession of lands of half that value in
1194. (fn. 64) In 1200 King John granted the manor at
fee farm to Hugh Bard or Bardulf and his heirs to be
held of the king, rendering for it the ancient farm
and the increment of 20 marks made in the time of
King Richard. (fn. 65) Hugh Bard held the manor until
1204, (fn. 66) when he presumably died without heirs, (fn. 67) for
it was granted in that year to William de Furnell,
clerk, at farm for his life. (fn. 68) The manor was granted
in 1215 by King John to his brother William Earl
of Salisbury, saving to William de Furnell his right
of holding the vill for his life. (fn. 69) William de Furnell,
who was rector of Bromsgrove, (fn. 70) continued to hold
Bromsgrove at farm until his death in 1236, when it
was given by the king to Nicholas Poynz and his
coparceners, who seem to have been William's heirs. (fn. 71)
William Earl of Salisbury joined Louis of France
against King John, and forfeited the manor of Bromsgrove, which was granted in 1216 to Gilbert de
Ayre. (fn. 72) The earl was restored to favour on the
accession of Henry III, and this manor was given
back to him in 1217. (fn. 73) He died in 1226, (fn. 74) when
the manor again came to the Crown. Friar Geoffrey,
the king's almoner, was appointed as custodian of the
manor in 1236, (fn. 75) and two years later it was given as
security to Henry de Hastings and his wife Ada until
the latter should have obtained her share of the lands
of John, late Earl of Chester, her brother. (fn. 76) The
manor returned into the king's possession in 1244–5, (fn. 77)
and from that time until 1260–1 remained in the
hands of farmers appointed from time to time by the
Crown. (fn. 78) At the latter date Henry III granted it to
the men of Bromsgrove, to be held at farm for five
years. (fn. 79)
Henry III assigned the manor to Queen Eleanor, but
it was found in 1274 that for some unexplained reason
she had not received it. (fn. 80) In
1263 Henry III granted to
Roger de Mortimer an annual
rent of £100 from the manors
of Bromsgrove and Norton, (fn. 81)
and in 1278 Edward I handed
over both these manors to his
mother Eleanor, on condition
that she paid the rent due to
Roger de Mortimer. (fn. 82) In
1299 Edward I assigned it to
Queen Margaret as dower, (fn. 83)
but when it was found that it
was burdened with a rent to
the Mortimers other land was
granted to her in exchange. (fn. 84)
Mortimer. Barry or and azure a chief or with two pales between as many gyrons azure therein and a scutcheon argent over all.
In 1302 Edmund de Mortimer granted the rent from Bromsgrove to Isabel de
Clare for life. (fn. 85) His son Roger de Mortimer, who
succeeded him in 1304, (fn. 86) granted this rent in 1315
to his brother John in tail-male with remainder to his
mother Margaret, Edmund de Mortimer's widow, for
life. (fn. 87) In 1317 John obtained from the Crown a grant
of the manors of Bromsgrove and Norton to be held
in fee at a fee-farm rent of £10 yearly. (fn. 88) John was
accidentally slain at a tournament at Worcester in
1318–19 and was succeeded by his son John, (fn. 89) from
whom the manor apparently passed to his uncle
Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, for in 1329
the king remitted to the earl the fee-farm rent of
£10, which Queen Isabella, to whom it then belonged, had already remitted during her lifetime. (fn. 90)
Roger Earl of March was attainted and executed in
1330, (fn. 91) and all his lands were forfeited to the Crown.
In 1332–3 the custody of the manors of Bromsgrove
and Norton, from which Margaret de Mortimer was
still receiving £100, was granted to John son of
Guy de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick for eight
years. (fn. 92) Four years later the custody of Roger, grandson and heir of the Earl of March, was entrusted to
William de Montagu and these manors were assigned
to the support of the child. (fn. 93) Roger gave his grandmother, Joan Countess of March, for life 100 marks
of land and rent in Bromsgrove and Norton in 1347, (fn. 94)
and in 1350 he granted to her the whole manor in
exchange for lands in Ireland. (fn. 95)
On her death in 1356 it reverted to Roger, then
Earl of March. (fn. 96) He died in 1360 and was succeeded
by his son Edmund, third Earl of March, (fn. 97) who
died in 1381. (fn. 98) The executors of his will granted
the manor to Margaret Countess of Norfolk and
others for eight years in 1387–8. (fn. 99)
Roger son and successor of Edmund was slain by
the Irish at Kenlis in 1398, (fn. 100) but it seems probable
that he never held this manor, for in 1403 it was
granted by the king during the minority of the heir
to Richard Lord Grey of Wilton, being then described
as lately the property of Sir Edmund Mortimer, kt., (fn. 101)
who had leased it to William Latimer of Danby
and others. This heir was Edmund, fifth Earl of
March, son of Roger, who received seisin about
1409. (fn. 102) Edmund, owing to his claim to the throne,
was long kept in prison at Trim Castle by Henry IV, (fn. 103)
but was released by Henry V in 1413. He conveyed the manor of Bromsgrove in 1415 to trustees, (fn. 104)
and after his death in 1424 (fn. 105) his nephew and
heir Richard Duke of York sued them for this
manor. (fn. 106) Nine years later an agreement was made
by which these trustees received from the manor a
certain yearly rent for twenty years. (fn. 107) Richard's son
Edward succeeded to the estate in 1460, (fn. 108) and on his
accession as King Edward IV
Bromsgrove became part of
the crown estates.
Richard, Duke of Yourk. The royal arms with the difference of a label argent with three roundels gules on each pendant.
It was granted by Edward IV
in 1461 to his mother Cicely
Duchess of York for her life, (fn. 109)
and Richard III confirmed
this grant in 1483–4. (fn. 110)
Edward IV appears to have
settled it on his daughters
Katherine Countess of Devon
and Anne the wife of Sir
Thomas Howard, from whom
in 1511 Henry VIII recovered
it, giving them other lands in
exchange. (fn. 111)
Before obtaining this release
from the heirs of Edward IV, Henry VIII had granted
land and rent in Bromsgrove in 1509 to Katherine
of Aragon. (fn. 112) Jane Seymour held the manor until
her death in 1537 (fn. 113) and Anne of Cleves received it
on her marriage in 1540, (fn. 114) Katherine Howard in the
following year (fn. 115) and Katherine Parr in 1544. (fn. 116)
In 1553 Edward VI sold the manor to John
Dudley Duke of Northumberland, (fn. 117) but on the
attainder of the duke in the same year his property
reverted to the Crown. The estate was restored to
his son Ambrose Earl of Warwick by Elizabeth in
1564, (fn. 118) but he died without surviving issue in
1589. (fn. 119) His widow Anne Countess of Warwick
held it until her death in 1603–4, (fn. 120) when the
manor reverted once more to the Crown. (fn. 121) James I
gave it in 1611 to Sir Richard Grobham (fn. 122) and he
held it until his death in 1629, (fn. 123) leaving it by will
to his nephew Sir John Howe, who was created a
baronet in 1660. (fn. 124) His grandson Sir Scrope Howe
sold the estate in 1682 to Thomas Lord Windsor, (fn. 125)
who was created Earl of Plymouth in that year. (fn. 126)
On his death in 1687 the property passed to his
grandson Other. (fn. 127) The four succeeding Earls of
Plymouth inherited the property, (fn. 128) but the sixth
earl died without issue in 1833, when this estate
passed to his younger sister Harriet wife of Hon.
Robert Henry Clive. The abeyance of the barony
of Windsor was terminated in her favour 25 October
1855. She was succeeded in 1869 by her grandson
Robert George, (fn. 129) fourteenth Lord Windsor, who was
created Earl of Plymouth in 1905 and is the present
lord of the manor of Bromsgrove.
A few court rolls of this manor between 1389 and
1546 have been preserved at the Public Record
Office, (fn. 130) and there are others (1473–1502) at the
British Museum. (fn. 131)
Windsor. Gules a saltire argent between twelve crosslets or.
Clive. Argent a fesse sable with three molets or thereon.
The court rolls and records of the manor of
Bromsgrove were formerly kept in the steeple of
Bromsgrove Church in a chest of which the steward,
bailiff, and reeve had the keys. It was only opened
in their presence and in that of four tenants of the
manor. (fn. 132)
In the Domesday Survey it is stated that 3 hides
at CHADWICK (Celdwic, xi cent.; Chadelwic,
Chadleswich, Chadeleiwyz, Chadewyz, xiii cent.;
Chadeleswych, xiv cent.; Chaddyswyche, xv cent.)
had been formerly held by thegns of Earl Eadwine,
but in 1086 it was part of the royal manor of
Bromsgrove, and Urse held it of the king, Alvred
being the tenant under Urse. (fn. 133) The interest of
Urse passed to the Beauchamps and followed the
descent of Elmley Castle. (fn. 134)
In the 12th century Ralph de Lens was holding
the vill of Chadwick in demesne, and in 1195, (fn. 135)
after his death, his widow Beatrice of London held
Chadwick and Willingwick as dower, with reversion
to her son Roger. (fn. 136) In 1232 Roger son of Ralph de
Lens gave to the hospital of St. Wulfstan, Worcester,
his capital messuage and lands in Chadwick. (fn. 137) Roger's
son Ralph, who probably succeeded him shortly after, (fn. 138)
was also a benefactor of the hospital, and in 1248 he gave
to it the dower lands of his mother Felicia. In return
for this the hospital gave to him and his wife Mary a
corner house in Worcester, opposite that of Hugh de
Pakenton, and a corrody, half of which was to cease
on the death of either Ralph or Mary, and the other
half on the death of the survivor. (fn. 139) Thomas de Lens
appears at one time to have held the manor, (fn. 140) but
before 1274 it seems probable that the Master of
St. Wulfstan's had acquired it, for at about that time
he appropriated to himself the assize of bread and ale
at Chadwick, and unsuccessfully tried to withdraw
his suit at Bromsgrove. (fn. 141) Successive Masters of
St. Wulfstan's held the manor until the hospital was
dissolved in the 16th century. (fn. 142) Henry VIII sold
the manor to Richard Morrison in 1540, adding in
1544 a rent reserved in 1540. (fn. 143) In the following
year Richard Morrison released it again to the king,
receiving other lands in exchange, (fn. 144) and in 1546
Chadwick was given to the Dean and Canons of
Christ Church, Oxford. (fn. 145) The whole of the Chadwick estate was sold by the Dean and Canons in
1904 to the Chadwick Estate Ltd., with the exception of the site of the reservoir, which is on lease to
the East Worcestershire Waterworks Co. for 99 years
from 1902. (fn. 146)
John Lacey, writing in 1778, states that the ancient
mansion-house had belonged in the 17th century to
the Lowe family, (fn. 147) from whom it came by marriage
to Henry Vaughan Jeffries. His son Humphrey
sold the lease of it in 1777 to John Hutton of
Birmingham. (fn. 148) In 1813 the manor-house was put up
for sale. (fn. 149) It afterwards came into the hands of John
Carpenter, (fn. 150) a gentlemen farmer, the author of a
treatise on agriculture, (fn. 151) who mortgaged it to
Mr. Penn. On the bankruptcy of the latter it was
bought by Mr. Wilcox, (fn. 152) who left it to his nephew
John Osborne, the owner in 1826. In 1849 Manor
Hall was the property of Francis T. Rufford. (fn. 153)
Chadwick Manor is now a farm-house.
In 1086 there were two holdings at WILLINGWICK (Willingewic, xi cent.; Welingewic, xii
cent.; Wylincwyke, xiii cent.; Winlyngwyche, xiv
cent.; Welynchewyk, xv cent.), each being parcel of
the royal manor of Bromsgrove. One part, held by
thegns of Earl Eadwine in the time of Edward the
Confessor, was in 1086 held by Urse, whose knight
Walter then held 2 hides and 3 virgates there. (fn. 154) The
other holding of 3 virgates had been held by Wulfwine,
a thegn of Earl Eadwine, and was in 1086 among
the lands of William Fitz Ansculf, Baldwin holding it
of him. (fn. 155) That part of the vill held under Urse
evidently followed the same descent as the manor
of Chadwick (q.v.) in the Lens family, (fn. 156) by some
member of which it was evidently granted to the
hospital of St. Wulfstan, for the master of the hospital
was in possession of it in 1346. (fn. 157) It probably became incorporated after 1428 with the manor of
Chadwick, for no further mention of it has been
found. (fn. 158) In the early 16th century a tenement called
'Wylengeswyke' belonged to William Curtes 'of old
enheritaunce.' (fn. 159)
Of the land at Willingwick held in 1086 under
William Fitz Ansculf no further mention is found, (fn. 160)
unless, as appears probable, it is to be identified with
land at Willingwick held in 1431 for a sixth of a
knight's fee by Joan Lady Beauchamp, (fn. 161) to whom it
may have passed from William Fitz Ansculf in the
same way as Northfiled. Joan died in 1435, (fn. 162) and
this manor apparently passed to her grandson James
Earl of Ormond, for it belonged to his brother
Thomas, who eventually succeeded as Earl of Ormond
and died in 1515. (fn. 163) This manor passed to his
youngest daughter Margaret wife of Sir William
Boleyn of Blickling, co. Norfolk, and was sold in
1518 by her sons Sir James and Sir Thomas Boleyn
to Richard Fermour. (fn. 164) From this time all references
to it cease.
TIMBERHONGER (Tymberhongle, Tymberhonghre, xiv cent.), a berewick of the royal manor
of Bromsgrove in 1086, (fn. 165) was held of that manor
until near the end of the 15th century, the last
mention of the overlordship occurring in 1473. (fn. 166)
The earliest tenants who held this manor of whom
there is record are the Portes. Elizabeth de Portes
held Timberhonger in 1297–8 and 1300. (fn. 167) In
1332 Richard de Portes had land there, (fn. 168) and five
years later William de Portes and his wife Maud sold
the manor to Hugh de Cooksey. (fn. 169) From that time
the manor followed the same descent as the manor
of Cooksey in Upton Warren (fn. 170) (q.v.), and it now
belongs to the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot.
The manor of WOODCOTE is partly in Upton
Warren and partly in Bromsgrove, the manor-house
being in the latter parish. Before 1066 the manor
belonged to Wulfsige, a thegn of Edward the Confessor, but by 1086 it had passed to Herlebald, who
held it of Urse D'Abitot. (fn. 171) The overlordship passed
from Urse to the Beauchamps as in Elmley Castle (fn. 172)
(q.v.). The next mention of Herlebald's successor
as underlord occurs about the middle of the 13th
century when Richard de Montviron was tenant of
the manor. (fn. 173) He or a successor of the same name
was impleaded for common of pasture at Woodcote
by William son of Warin de Upton in 1254–5, (fn. 174)
and was holding in 1299–1300. (fn. 175) He had been
succeeded before 1315–16 by John de Bishopston, (fn. 176)
who was said to be his heir. (fn. 177) John settled the
manor in 1316–17 on Joan daughter of Edmund
de Grafton, (fn. 178) afterwards married to his son Roger.
John de Bishopston was living in 1319, when he
obtained a grant of free warren in the manor. (fn. 179)
Roger de Bishopston and Joan, having no son,
settled the manor in 1345 on their only daughter
Alice and her husband Walter, son of Richard de
Clodeshale. (fn. 180) Richard de Clodeshale, great-grandson
of Alice, left Woodcote to his only child Elizabeth (fn. 181) wife of Sir Thomas Aston, kt., and she in
1410 settled it on her daughter Margaret wife
of Richard Brace and their heirs. (fn. 182) Richard Brace
and Margaret had two daughters, Elizabeth, who
married John Ewnet, and Margaret, who married
firstly Robert Bromwich and secondly Reginald
Monington, and they claimed the manor after her
death under the above settlement, their right to it
being confirmed in 1472 by Walter Arderne, (fn. 183) son
of Elizabeth Clodeshale by another husband, Robert
Arderne of Park Hall, co. Warw. (fn. 184) In 1504 John
Arderne son of Walter (fn. 185) tried to obtain the manor
from Rowland Ewnet son of Elizabeth and William
Bromwich, grandson of Margaret, but a case before
the King's Bench was decided in favour of the defendants. (fn. 186) In 1494 William Bromwich sold his share of
Woodcote to Thomas Bromwich, (fn. 187) who in 1521–2
acquired the other half from Rowland Ewnet son of
the above Rowland. (fn. 188) Nothing further is known of
the manor until 1550, when Ralph Fane and Elizabeth his wife released their interest in it to Anne
wife of Edmund Horne, to whom the reversion,
after Elizabeth's death, belonged. Edmund and
Anne (fn. 189) in 1551 sold Woodcote to Sir John Pakington, kt., (fn. 190) who appears to have settled it on his
daughter Bridget when she married Sir John Lyttelton of Frankley, kt. (fn. 191) The latter died seised in
1591, and by his will left the manor to his second
son George and Margaret his wife, with reversion to
their son Stephen and his heirs male, and contingent remainders to John, another son of George and
Margaret, and to Gilbert eldest son of the testator. (fn. 192)
Stephen Lyttelton was one of the conspirators in the
Gunpowder Plot, and was arrested with Robert Winter
at Hagley (fn. 193) through the treachery of one of his
mother's servants at Holbeach. (fn. 194) Woodcote is not
mentioned in the list of his lands forfeited to the
Crown, probably because his mother, Margaret
Lyttelton, was still living and held it for her life.
After her death it passed to Gilbert Lyttelton and
Etheldreda his wife. (fn. 195) Gilbert in 1617 became
bound in the sum of £2,000 in trust for the use of
Anne Lyttelton, widow, who afterwards became the
wife of Francis Fowke, and of her two daughters
Frances and Elizabeth. Woodcote appears to have
been mortgaged on this account, but Gilbert afterwards sold it to Sir Brian Cave of Ingarsby (co.
Leic.). (fn. 196) Sir Brian does not seem to have obtained
possession, for the manor was afterwards held in
moieties by Elizabeth wife of Walter Fowke and
Frances wife of Henry Cupper, (fn. 197) evidently the two
daughters of Anne Lyttelton mentioned above.
Henry and Frances gave up their share to Walter
Fowke and Elizabeth, (fn. 198) who conveyed the whole to
John Cupper and Leonard Chamberlain in 1641. (fn. 199)
This conveyance was apparently made for the purpose
of paying Walter's debts, and in 1652 Cupper and
Chamberlain were sued for not fulfil ing the trusts of
this conveyance. (fn. 200) Chamberlain, however, stated
that Walter Fowke sold the manor to him in 1639,
and that he maintained the said Walter and his wife
'weekely in theyre expences in London for a long
tyme.' When the Civil War began Walter Fowke
became an officer in the royal army, and Henry
Cupper also took up arms for the king, and begged
Chamberlain's estate in the manor from the king,
taking the profits until Worcester was besieged in 1646,
when the manor was sequestered. It was subsequently
restored to Henry Cupper, who went to the Isle of
Man with the Earl of Derby, thus preventing
Chamberlain from suing him. (fn. 201) It would seem that
Chamberlain never recovered seisin, for in 1668 John
Baker and his wife Sarah sold the manor to Thomas
Foley, and a clause is inserted in the conveyance
assuring it from all claims by Walter Fowke and his
wife Elizabeth and Henery Cupper and his wife
Frances. (fn. 202) From that time it evidently passed in the
Foley family, following the descent of Oddingley
(q.v.), being in the possession of Thomas Lord Foley
in 1802. About 1820 it was purchased by James
Deakin, who sold it in 1828 to John Earl of Shrewsbury. It has since descended with the title. (fn. 203)
The early history of the manor of GANNOW is
uncertain. In 1330 Hugh de Mortimer obtained a
grant of free warren at 'Gamion,' (fn. 204) and in 1407 the
manor of Gannow was said to have been held of the
Earl of Warwick by Richard Ruyhale and his wife
Elizabeth. (fn. 205) James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire, forfeited
this manor on his attainder in 1461, (fn. 206) and it was
given by Edward IV to Fulk Stafford. (fn. 207) He died
without heirs in 1463, and the king then gave two
thirds of it to Sir John Scott, with the reversion of
the remaining third on the death of Margaret the
widow of Fulk. (fn. 208) Sir John Scott surrendered the
manor to the king in 1481 in exchange for other
lands, (fn. 209) and the king then gave it to the Dean and
Canons of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, (fn. 210) with the
reversion of the third part, still in the hands of
Margaret Stafford. The manor does not appear to
have remained long in the hands of the dean and
chapter, for, according to Nash, it was granted, like
the manor of Old Swinford, to Thomas Earl of
Ormond, (fn. 211) and it subsequently passed with the manor
of Willingwick to Richard Fermour, (fn. 212) a wealthy
merchant who was amassing vast property in land at
that time. He was later convicted under the Statute
of Provisors and deprived of his property, Gannow
being given by Henry VIII in 1545 to John Dudley,
Viscount Lisle, Great Admiral of England, (fn. 213) but in
1550 Richard Fermour's property was restored. (fn. 214) He
died in 1552 (fn. 215) and was succeeded by his son John,
who was knighted in the following year. (fn. 216) Thomas
Fermour, who was holding it in 1571 and died in
1580, was apparently brother of John. (fn. 217) He left it
to his son Richard, (fn. 218) who probably sold it to the
Lloyd family. In 1624 Thomas and Robert Lloyd
and William Porter conveyed it to Anne Porter,
a widow. (fn. 219) In 1650 Henry Porter owned land in
Gannow. (fn. 220) Nash writing about 1782, states that
the manor was owned by Thomas Jolliffe, (fn. 221) and it is
probably to be identified with the manor of Ganway
which he was holding in 1720–1. (fn. 222) The manor
passed with that of Coston Hackett (q.v.) to Robert
Biddulph, who was in possession in 1795. (fn. 223) It is
believed to have passed with Coston Hackett to the
Earl of Plymouth in the 19th century. A court was
still held for it once a year in the early 19th century. (fn. 224)
The Prior of Dodford had land and rents at
DODFORD to the yearly value of £4 17s. in 1291. (fn. 225)
The priory with all its possessions was granted to the
abbey of Halesowen in 1464, (fn. 226) and Dodford Priory
then became a cell of that abbey. (fn. 227) In 1538 the
Abbot of Halesowen surrendered the manor and priory
of Dodford to the king, (fn. 228) who granted them in the
same year to Sir John Dudley. (fn. 229) In the following
year he gave the manor to his brother Andrew, (fn. 230) who
in 1551 sold it, with the exception of the mansionhouse, by which the site of the priory was perhaps
meant, to Thomas and Hugh Wylde. The latter sold
the estate in 1559 to Thomas and Robert Wylde
Thomas died before 1561 and Robert was distrained
for homage for it in 1564. (fn. 231) It remained in this
family until, in the middle of the 17th century, it
passed to Richard Bourne of Acton Hall on his marriage with Anne daughter of Robert Wylde. (fn. 232) Page
Bourne, a descendant of this lady, owned it at the
beginning of the 19th century, when the manor courts
were still held. (fn. 233) The Rt. Hon. William Sturges Bourne,
who died in 1845, left it to his wife and daughter, but
it was soon afterwards sold, a farm forming part of it
being bought in 1856 by Mr. Robert Deakin. (fn. 234)
The SITE OF THE PRIORY OF DODFORD
was granted with the manor in 1538 to Sir John
Dudley, and alienated by him to Andrew Dudley,
who sold his ' chief mansion house or messuage' at
Dodford to John Fownes in 1539. (fn. 235) His son or grandson Thomas Fownes, sen., at the time of his death in
1631, held the reversion of this estate after the death
of Jane wife of Henry Dyson, widow of Thomas's
son Thomas, on whom it had been settled at the
time of her marriage with Thomas. (fn. 236) Thomas, the
son, had died without issue in 1620, (fn. 237) and in 1633
livery of the manor was made to his brother John
Fownes, (fn. 238) who continued to hold it as late as 1664. (fn. 239)
He was succeeded by Thomas Fownes, who was
living in 1675, (fn. 240) after which all trace of this property
is lost.
The priory is now a farm. The walls to a height
of about 6 ft. are those of the old priory. The
chapel has entirely disappeared, but stood on the left
of the court. (fn. 241)
The earliest mention of the so-called manor of
DYERS is in 1537, when Edward Dewpy or
Bewpye and his wife Elizabeth sold it to John
Pakington. (fn. 242) John Pakington was knighted in 1545,
and died fifteen years later, leaving two daughters, of
whom Bridget, who married Sir John Lyttelton,
inherited this manor. (fn. 243) Her grandson, John Lyttelton,
was attainted in 1601, owing to his share in Essex's
rebellion. (fn. 244) James I granted the manor to his widow
Muriel in 1603, (fn. 245) her son, Sir Thomas Lyttelton,
afterwards holding the manor. He sold it in 1639
to Ralph and John Taylor. (fn. 246) Ralph Taylor conveyed
it in 1664 to Nicholas and Edmund Lechmere, (fn. 247) and
in 1692 Edward Taylor conveyed it to Sandys
Lechmere and Edward Milles. (fn. 248) The manor of
Dyers still existed at the end of the 18th century
when Nash wrote his History of Worcester, (fn. 249) but he
does not give the name of the owner. The old
manor-house was pulled down in 1777, and the
Golden Lion Inn was built on its site. (fn. 250) Prattinton
calls this manor 'Diocese or Dyers manor,' and in
his time two courts were held yearly. (fn. 251)
The manor of BUNHILL (Bollenhill, xv cent.;
Bovenhill, Bonehill, xvi cent.; Bornehill, Beaconhill,
Bavenhill, xviii cent.) seems to have originated in
land at 'Bollenhull' held at the time of his death
in 1473 by Sir Ralph Boteler of Sudeley. (fn. 252) It was
appurtenant to the manor of Fairfield in Belbroughton
(q.v.) until the latter was sold by John Talbot about
1595, (fn. 253) but it is mentioned as a separate manor in
1560–1. (fn. 254) It must have been sold by the Talbots to
Robert Caldwell, for in 1619 and 1630 he made
conveyances of it to John Westwood. (fn. 255) It was in the
possession of Thomas Jolliffe of Coston Hackett in
1720–1, (fn. 256) and passed with Coston Hackett to Robert
Biddulph, who was holding it in 1795. (fn. 257) No further
mention of this manor has been found.
The Abbot of Bordesley had lands in Bromsgrove
at least as early as 1155. (fn. 258) In the 13th century
Alured Jordan sold land which he held of the king
there to the abbot. (fn. 259) In 1267 the convent quitclaimed to Henry III 24s. which 'they were wont
to receive from the king's manor of Bromsgrove of
the king's appointed alms,' and received other lands
and rent in return. (fn. 260) The abbot attended the court
of Bromsgrove in 1389, (fn. 261) but nothing further is
known of his estate here.
During the 15th century land in this parish,
occasionally described as the manor of Bromsgrove,
was in the hands of the Staffords. Sir Humphrey
Stafford of Grafton bequeathed it by his will dated
1442 to his son Richard, but Richard died without issue, and the manor passed to his brother
Sir Humphrey. (fn. 262) It then followed the same descent
as Kenswick in the parish of Knightwick (q.v.) until
1546, when Humphrey Stafford succeeded his father
Sir Humphrey in this manor. (fn. 263) This Humphrey
forfeited all his possessions by an attainder, and
Bromsgrove was granted in 1592 to William Tipper
and Robert Dawe. (fn. 264) From this time the estate
disappears.
BARNSLEY HALL was held during the 17th
century by the Barnsley family, who are known to
have been holding land in Bromsgrove in the 15th
and 16th centuries. (fn. 265) Their
pedigree is entered in the
Worcestershire Visitation of
1569. (fn. 266) John Lacey, writing
in 1778, states that the Barnsleys sold the hall to the Lowes,
from whom it was bought by
Edward Knight of Wolverley.
The old hall was taken down in
1771 and a large farm erected
near its site. (fn. 267) It was purchased about 1900 by the
Worcestershire County Council, who erected a large lunatic
asylum upon the site.
Barsley. Sable a cross between four roses argent with a moletgules for difference.
There were three mills in the manor of Bromsgrove
in 1086, worth 13s. 4d. (fn. 268) Bromsgrove Mill,' on the
churche and markett waye,' (fn. 269) was given with the manor
to Ambrose Earl of Warwick by Elizabeth. James I
separated the mill from the manor in 1609 and gave
the former to Edward Ferrers and Francis Philipps. (fn. 270)
In the following year Edward and Francis sold the mill
to Giles Richards, but ten years later the mill-house
and buildings were in ruins and the footbridge and
horsebridge and foodgates had entirely disappeared. (fn. 271)
A water corn-mill at Bromsgrove was advertised for
sale in 1817. (fn. 272) Mr. W. A. Cotton, writing in 1888,
stated that this mill had been recently removed to
effect a public improvement. (fn. 273)
The Lower Mills at Bromsgrove were held of
Edward Knight at a fee-farm rent of £1 16s. 6d. in
1769. (fn. 274) Fockbury Mill was leased by Sir John
Lyttelton in the 14th century to Joan widow of
Gilbert Penn, who left it in her will to Gilbert
Barnsley. (fn. 275) Fockbury Mill, a corn-mill on the
Battlefield Brook, still exists. A mill existed at Whitford (fn. 276) or Wyteford in 1266. (fn. 277) There is now a cornmill called Whitford Mill on the Battlefield Brook.
The tithe of the mill of the Chadwick was granted
with the manor in 1232 to the hospital of St. Wulfstan
by Roger de Lens, (fn. 278) and in 1271–2 Walter de
Montviron and Annora his wife gave a mill at Chadwick to the hospital. (fn. 279) The present Chadwick Mill
is on Battlefield Brook near Chadwick Farm. A
corn-mill at Wildmoor (fn. 280) in Chadwick belonged in
1791 to William Viscount Dudley and Ward. (fn. 281)
There is a corn-mill at Lickey End on the
Spadesbourne Brook, and there are many mills in the
town, including Townsend Mill and Blackmore Mill,
corn-mills on the Spadesbourne Brook, and in the
south of the town Moat Mill, Lint Mill and Bant
Mill. Sugarbrook Mill lies on the boundary between
this parish and Stoke Prior, and there is a disused
cotton-mill at the junction of the Spadesbourne and
Battlefield Brooks.
After Henry III granted the church of Bromsgrove to the priory of Worcester in 1232 (fn. 282) the
monastery appropriated the tithes and lands belonging to it, a portion being set aside for the payment of
a vicar. (fn. 283) From this appropriation the RECTORY
MANOR appears to have arisen. It was leased
in 1253 to Samson de Bromsgrove for two years, (fn. 284)
and in 1306 it was found that the prior and
convent had had the amercements under the assize
of bread and ale among the men and tenants of
their appropriate church of Bromsgrove until Queen
Eleanor had the custody of the manor of Bromsgrove. (fn. 285) The priory retained the rectory until its
dissolution, when Henry VIII granted it in 1542
to the Dean and Chapter of Worcester, (fn. 286) in
whose possession it remained until the manorial
rights lapsed. (fn. 287) The Ecclesiastical Commissioners
still hold the rectorial tithes and about 40 acres
of glebe land. Both have been for many years
leased to the lord of the manor for the time
being. Prattinton, writing in the beginning of the
19th century, states that the rectory manor was
formerly part of Feckenham Forest, and that a court
leet was held twice a year. (fn. 288) Lord Plymouth still
holds courts annually. (fn. 289)
CHURCHES
The church of ST. JOHN BAPTIST consists of chancel 40 ft. 6 in.
by 32 ft. 3 in., north vestry, clearstoried nave 67 ft. 6 in. by 36 ft. 6 in., a north aisle
20 ft. 3 in. wide and a south aisle 20 ft. 9 in. wide,
a south porch, and west tower 19 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft.
These measurements are all internal.
The earliest church, of which there are remains in
the south door and the eastern respond of the north
arcade of the nave, was a late 12th-century cruciform aisleless building, having a chancel smaller than
the present one.
In the middle of the 13th century the chancel
was rebuilt, lengthened and widened on the south
side, a 13th-century arch replacing the Norman one
to the nave. The south aisle is also of this date,
and it may be presumed that a narrow north aisle
was added at this time.
The position of the piscina here may indicate that
the old transept was retained and used as a chapel.
There is no evidence of an early tower. In the
14th century the vestry was added to the chancel, and
late in the same century the present west tower and
spire were built. In the 15th century the north wall
of the north aisle was probably rebuilt in line with
the north wall of the transept, the west wall of which
was then removed and windows were spaced along the
wall, using up two 14th-century windows from the
former aisle and perhaps the jambs of the north
transept window. Later in the century the aisle was
carried on by the side of the chancel as far as the
vestry, though it is possible that a chapel already
existed east of the transept at this point, before the
east wall of the transept was removed.
During the 15th century a steep-pitched ceiling
existed over the nave, but at the end of that century
or the beginning of the next this was removed, the
south arcade being rebuilt at the same time and a
clearstory added.
In the south aisle the square projecting tomb recess
was added to the south wall and a porch built to
replace the earlier one. The church was thoroughly
restored by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1858, and the upper
part of the spire was rebuilt in 1892.
The east window of the chancel consists of five
modern lancets grouped under a pointed head, part
of the exterior of the window being old.
In the north wall is a two-light trefoiled window
of about 1300 with a quatrefoil over. The vestry is
lighted by a three-light trefoiled east window and a
similar two-light window in the north wall, with a
modern door below. The doorway communicating
with the chancel is also modern. West of the vestry
is a wide four-centred arch with panelled soffit, moulded
ribs and carved bosses opening into the eastern end of
the north aisle. In the wall round it are traces of a
previous arch of higher pitch, suggesting the existence
of a chapel to the east of the north transept, previous
to the 15th century. A rib on the east wall of the
north aisle and corbels with angels, set in the northeast and south-east angles, are perhaps remains of the
chapel vault. The segmental arch from the east wall,
now blocked, originally connected with the vestry.
The south wall of the chancel has two windows
similar to that on the north. The sedilia are composed of old work re-used and carved with quatrefoils
inclosing shields. There is also a trefoiled piscina,
the drain of which is old. At the south-west end of
the wall is an arch, apparently of the 14th century,
opening into the aisle. The chancel arch is twocentred and of three moulded orders with labels; the
responds have three half-shafts with moulding and
nail-heads on the capitals. Above the arch on the
west side is the line of the steep pitch 13th-century
ceiling. On the north side is the opening of the
rood-loft, with the stair passing up through the wall.
The north arcade is of five bays, the eastern arch
having square moulded abaci of late 12th-century
type. All except the arch, however, is now modern.
West of this is a small trefoiled arch forming a second
bay inserted by Scott at the restoration of the church.
The three western bays are of late 13th-century date,
and have two-centred arches of two chamfered orders,
supported by piers of quatrefoil plan which have
been much restored. The south arcade consists of
four bays of about the year 1500, with small moulded
capitals and shafts similar to the arch mouldings. The
clearstory has five two-light windows on each side of
the nave, contemporary with the south arcade.
The east window of the north aisle is of the 15th
century, with two lights and tracery in the head,
and the first two windows in the north wall are of
similar date. This part of the aisle is occupied by the
organ. The third window has also 15th-century
tracery, but its jambs are perhaps those of the original
transept window, and are similar to the jambs of the
corresponding windows of the south aisle. The fourth
and fifth windows are of about 1320, and consist of
three lights, a central cinquefoiled light flanked by
trefoiled lights. Between these windows is a blocked
14th-century door, the stones of the outside arch
numbered for re-setting. The west window of the
aisle is 15th-century work of four lights with cinquefoiled heads and tracery over. The tower arch of
three moulded orders dates from the end of the 14th
century. In the south aisle the east window with
three uncusped lights and interesting mullions is of
13th-century date; the first window in the south
wall of three lights with tracery over is of the 15th
century, and is similar in detail to the four-light
window in the west wall. West of this is a piscina,
partly old, of about 1300, and a square projecting
bay, probably for a tomb, with a three-light, squareheaded window in its south wall and similar singlelight windows in its east and west walls, all of 15th-century date. Above the south porch and on either
side of it are three 15th-century windows of three
lights each with square heads. The south door appears
to be late 12th-century work re-used when the original
nave door was moved out to the aisle wall. The
late 14th-century west tower is of three stages, with
diagonal buttresses of four offsets and panelled battlements having pinnacles at the angles, above which
rises a lofty octagonal spire of stone with roll-moulded
angles, and two sets of finialled lights. The
moulded west doorway of the tower, with an obtuse
pointed head externally, may be 13th-century work.
The Roman numerals on the stones of the arch suggest
that the door has been reset in its present position.
In the north and south walls of the ground stage of
the tower are three-light windows of 14th-century
date with cinquefoiled lights and intersecting
mullions. A door leads to the belfry stair in the
south-west angle. In the north and south faces of
the second stage are small pointed windows, and
on the west three crocketed niches with figures of
St. Peter, St. Paul, and an unidentified saint, and a
small arched recess on either side. In the third stage
the belfry windows are of two lights with quatrefoils
over. On either side of these is blank arcading with
tracery, crockets and finials. The porch itself is of
15th-century date; but traces of that which it
replaces are to be seen on the wall above. It is lit by
two-light windows in the side walls, and to the east
of the door is a stoup with a niche for an image on
the other side. The roof of cambered beams is old,
and above the outer doorway is a canopied niche.
Generally the exterior of the church is faced with
large sandstone, and the walls, with the exception of
the chancel, have embattled parapets, surmounted by
pinnacles marking the bays. The south aisle retains
its 13th-century buttresses to the south and west walls,
and on the latter is the line of an earlier roof. On
each side of the tower are straight joints in the
masonry. The chancel roof is apparently old, those
of the aisles and nave modern. In the chancel is a
17th-century desk with a chained copy of Jewell's
Apology, and in the vestry is an old poor-box. The
font and fittings of the church are modern.
Plan of Bromsgrove Church
In the north aisle is a large alabaster altar tomb
with effigies of Sir John Talbot and his two wives
(Margaret Troutbeck and Elizabeth Wrottesley).
The north and part of the east sides of the tomb are
modern and blank. On the west are three cusped
and traceried panels inclosing shields; the first has
three piles and a quarter ermine, for Wrottesley; the
second, a large shield, quarterly of nine, for Talbot,
1, a lion, 2, a lion, 3, bendy, 4, barry ten martlets,
5, a saltire with a martlet, 6, a bend between six
martlets, 7, a fret, 8, two lions passant, 9, a lion;
the third is a small shield, quarterly, 1, a fleur de lis
between three men's heads, 2, three piles, 3, two
cheverons with a crosslet fitchy in the quarter, 4, a
lion passant. On the south side of the tomb are
four traceried panels, the first and third with a
talbot, the second blank, and the fourth, in a cabled
circle, three trout interlaced, which are the arms of
Troutbeck. On the east face of the tomb one panel
only is left and bears the letter M. The marginal
inscription, cut in raised letters on the slab, runs:
'Hic jacent corpora Johannis Talbot militis et
domine Margarete prime uxoris atque domine
Elizabethe uxoris secunde filie Walteri Wrocheley
armigeri qui quidem Johannes obiit X° die Septembris
Anno Domini M°CCCCL°. Quorum animabus
propicietur deus amen.' The effigy of Sir John is
placed between those of his wives and is in plate
armour with hauberk, the head and hands being bare.
He wears a collar of SS, and his feet with rounded
sabbatons rest on a lion. The figure on his right has
a kennel head-dress with voil. The lady on his left
wears a jewelled coif. To the north is a second
tomb to Sir Humphrey Stafford and Elizabeth his
wife, ob. 1450, in stone, the east and west ends only,
which have quatrefoiled panels, being old. On it are
two fine alabaster effigies of a man and woman. The
man wears a pointed bascinet with orle and raised
visor; his plate armour shows traces of gilding, the
hands are gloved with finger tips exposed and the
feet have pointed sollerets. The head rests on a
helmet crested with a boar's head. The lady has a
mitred head-dress, and at her feet are a griffin and a
talbot. In the north-east corner of the chancel is a
white alabaster altar tomb with the effigy of a lady.
The tomb has probably been shortened, and has a
double row of cinquefoiled panels, three angels with
blank shields and a small image bracket. The figure
wears a jewelled head-dress and long
mantle; a metal necklace and cloak
clasp as well as the brass inscription
have been removed. The figure represents Elizabeth daughter of Ralph Lord
Greystock and first wife of Sir Gilbert
Talbot of Grafton, ob. 1517. On the
wall above is a good monument in grey
marble to John Hall, Bishop of Bristol,
with the arms of his see, three crowns,
impaling crusilly three talbots' heads
razed. He died in 1710.
Bromsgrove Church from the North-west
In the north aisle is a brass tablet to
Dame Bridget Talbot, wife of Sir John
Talbot of Castle Ring, Ireland, daughter of Sir John Talbot the elder of
Grafton, ob. 1619. Another tablet is
to Dame Margrete Lygon, wife of Sir
Arnould Lygon, of Beauchamp Court,
ob. 1632.
In the south aisle is the marble and
alabaster monument of George Lyttelton
(1600) with his effigy. Behind is a
panelled arch (wherein is a slab with
an inscription) between Corinthian
columns with a cornice over, supporting a shield of the cheveron and scallops
of Lyttelton, quartered with the old
coat, Argent a bend cotised sable in a
border engrailed gules bezanty.
Outside the north wall of the north
aisle is a much-worn red sandstone effigy
of a woman. On the south aisle wall
is a sundial.
In the tower are ten bells, the first,
second and seventh cast by T. Mears
of London, 1816; the third, fourth
(with inscription 'When you us ring,
We'll sweetly sing') sixth, and tenth by Thomas
Rudhall of Gloucester, 1773; the ninth ('I to the
church the living call, And to the grave do summon
all') by John Rudhall, 1790; the eighth was recast
by Barwell of Birmingham in 1897, and the fifth,
the only remnant of the original ring, by Abraham
Rudhall, 1701, inscribed 'God prosper this parish.'
There is also a priest's bell bearing merely the date
1816.
The bells of Bromsgrove Church were recast about
1622 by John Tydman for £61 2s. 4d. The old
bells weighed: the great bell 19 cwt. 1 qr. 4 lb. 10 oz.,
the second 15 cwt. 13 lb., the third 14 cwt. 1 qr. 14 lb.,
and the fourth 9 cwt. 3 qr. 8 lb. When they had been
recast, however, they were found to be worthless, and
the five contained far less weight than the four old
ones. (fn. 290)
The plate is all of 1876 and consists of two silver
chalices, two patens and a flagon. The old plate is
said to have been melted down.
The registers previous to 1812 are as follows:
(i) all entries 1590 to 1652; (ii) 1653 to 1719;
(iii) 1719 to 1733; (iv) 1734 to 1754, also baptisms
and burials 1783 to 1793; (v) baptisms and burials
1753 to 1803; (vi) baptisms and burials 1774 to
1783; (vii) marriages 1754 to 1773; (viii) marriages
1773 to 1812; (ix) baptisms and burials 1793 to
1806; (x) baptisms and burials 1806 to 1815.
The church of ALL SAINTS, erected 1872–4,
consists of an apsidal chancel, with a north organ
chamber and a south vestry, north and south transepts,
nave, north and south aisles and a north-west tower.
The nave is of six bays. The design is in the style
of the late 13th century and the materials are quarry
faced and coursed rubble, with wrought stone dressings
and tiled roofs.
ADVOWSON
There was probably a church at
Bromsgrove in 1086, (fn. 291) as there was
then a priest in the manor. The
advowson apparently remained in the Crown until
1232, when Henry III granted the church of Bromsgrove to the Prior and monks of Worcester, (fn. 292) who
appropriated it in 1235. (fn. 293) This gift was confirmed
by Gregory IX in 1237 (fn. 294) and by Bishop William de
Blois, who assigned the chapel of Grafton to the sacristan
of the church of Worcester instead of 10 marks which
the sacristan used to receive from the church of Bromsgrove for finding tapers at the tomb of King John. (fn. 295)
The advowson of the church remained in the
possession of the prior and convent (fn. 296) until the dissolution of their house, and was granted in 1542 by
Henry VIII to the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. (fn. 297)
This was confirmed by James I in 1608, (fn. 298) and they
continue to hold it at the present day.
In 1669 the advowson fell to the king, no presentation having been made for eighteen months. (fn. 299) The
vicarage of Bromsgrove was held together with the
bishopric of Rochester by special licence from 1544
to 1550, (fn. 300) and again from 1828 to about 1846, when
George Murray, Bishop of Rochester, was vicar of
Bromsgrove. The Trustees for Ministers recommended an augmentation of £50 to the living of
Bromsgrove in 1656, as it was a great market town
and the means small. (fn. 301)
There were five chapels dependent on the church
of Bromsgrove, i.e. Chadwick, Moseley, Wythall, Grafton, and King's Norton. The last four have become
parochial. (fn. 302)
The chapel of St. James in Chadwick was given by
Roger son of Ranulf de Lens to the hospital of St.
Wulfstan, and his gift was confirmed by the king in
1232. (fn. 303) In 1401 the Preceptor of St. Wulfstan's was
sued by the inhabitants of Chadwick and Willingwick for not providing a chaplain to serve the
chapel of Chadwick. (fn. 304) The Prior of Worcester seems
to have claimed the advowson of the chapel in the
15th century, but renounced it in 1432. (fn. 305) Nash
states that the chapel was in ruins at the end of the
18th century. He adds that it was said to be the
duty of the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, to keep the
chapel in repair and to find a chaplain, but that service had not been performed nor the chapel been fit
for service within living memory. (fn. 306)
In 1405 the Bishop of Worcester licensed those of
the parishioners of Bromsgrove who lived near King's
Norton to attend service at the chapel of Moseley, as
being nearer and more convenient for them than the
church of Bromsgrove. (fn. 307)
Richard de la Lynde endowed a chantry in the
church of St. John the Baptist of Bromsgrove in
1304–5, (fn. 308) and in 1335 Richard, called the clerk of
Bromsgrove, obtained licence to have divine service
celebrated in an oratory in his manor of Bromsgrove. (fn. 309)
In 1447 Sir Humphrey Stafford of Grafton obtained
licence of the king to found a perpetual chantry of
two chaplains in the church of Bromsgrove, at the
altar of St. Mary, to celebrate divine service for the
good estate of the king and queen and of Humphrey
and Eleanor his wife, to be called 'the chantry of
Humphery Stafford of Grafton kt.' (fn. 310) The chantry
was not actually founded until 1476–8, when Eleanor,
Sir Humphrey's widow, endowed a chaplain with a
rent of £6 13s. 4d. from the manor of Dodford, co.
Northants. (fn. 311) The advowson of this chantry belonged
to the Staffords, lords of Dodford. (fn. 312) In the reign of
Edward VI, when the chantry was dissolved, £7 was
being paid to a priest who was bound to keep a
school and assist the curate at Bromsgrove, while there
was also a chantry priest receiving a stipend of
£6 13s. 4d. A sum of 6s. 8d. was given to the poor
and 6s. was reserved for lamps, the remainder being employed for the 'repairs of the church, sending soldiers
to the wars, repairing highways, and bridges, and
suchlike charitable deeds within the parish.' (fn. 313)
Lands forming part of the endowment of this chantry were sold in 1550 to William Winlove and Richard
Feild, (fn. 314) but in 1556–7 the school was re-endowed by
Queen Mary, as the 'free grammar school of King
Philip and Queen Mary,' with £7 per annum, and the
government of it was entrusted to six men of the
town. (fn. 315)
The ecclesiastical parish of All Saints was formed in
1875. (fn. 316) The vicarage is in the gift of the vicar of
Bromsgrove. Christ Church, Catshill, Holy Trinity,
Lickey, and St. Mary, Dodford, are parishes formed
from Bromsgrove in 1844, 1858, and 1908 respectively. (fn. 317) The livings are vicarages, the first two in
the gift of the vicar of Bromsgrove and the third in
the gift of the Rev. W. G. Whinfield. There are
chapels of ease at Linthurst and at Rubery in Lickey,
and a mission chapel at Sidemoor. The Roman
Catholic church at Bromsgrove was erected in 1860.
There are Baptist, (fn. 318) Congregational, (fn. 319) Wesleyan
Methodist and Primitive Methodist chapels in Bromsgrove, a Baptist chapel at Dodford, founded 1865, (fn. 320)
and a Methodist chapel at Sidemoor. At Catshill
and Bourneheath are Baptist, (fn. 321) Wesleyan, and Primitive Methodist chapels, and at Lickey Wesleyan, Congregational and Primitive Methodist chapels.
The Free Grammar School. (fn. 322)
CHARITIES
The consolidated charities are
regulated by a scheme of the Charity
Commissioners 1 March 1907. They include certain
donations for the poor, recorded on a table of benefactions in the church, dated 1636; also the charities
of Anthony Cole, will, 1660, Mrs. Roberts, will (date
unknown), Humphrey Cooke, will, 1720, and other
charities referred to below.
The properties originally belonging to the charities
have undergone considerable changes by allotments
on the inclosure, exchanges and sales and accumulations of income, and now consist of the almshouses,
erected for the most part from accumulations of
income; land situated at Sidemoor, Bourneheath and
Bromsgrove containing in the aggregate 17 acres or
thereabouts, two houses in St. John's Street and a
house in Birmingham Road producing a gross rental
of £92; an annuity of £3 issuing out of land at
Wildmoor in respect of Anthony Cole's Charity; an
annuity of £5 out of an estate at Fockerby in respect
of Joseph Smith's Charity; and an annuity of £1
out of land at Shepley mentioned in the ancient
table of benefactions as 'worthy Stafford's dole.'
Also £171 8s. 4d. India 3 per cent. stock derived
under the will of Mary Kettle, 1791; £1,019 5s. 1d.
like stock under the will of Thomas Haukes, 1809;
£112 10s. 3d. like stock by will of Elizabeth Moore,
1819; £354 6s. 5d. like stock by will of James
Ridgeway, 1837; and £1,956 1s. 11d. like stock
under the will of James Holyoake, proved at Birmingham 2 April 1859. The several sums of stock are held
by the official trustees, who also hold a further sum
of £968 16s. 5d. India 3 per cent. stock and a sum
of £3,352 19s. 7d. Bank of England stock, producing
together in annual dividends £457 18s. 6d.
In 1910, in pursuance of the scheme, a sum of
£50 was paid in grants to institutions, about £350
in stipends, in coals, and for nursing the almspeople,
who by a scheme of 17 August 1909 may be forty in
number, reckoning a married couple as two; a sum
of £76 19s. in pensions to poor people of sixty years
and upwards.
An annual sum of £2 is paid to the churchwardens
of St. John's for distribution among poor widows in
respect of Mrs. Roberts's Charity and £3 a year is
distributed among poor widows resident in Chadwick
Yield in respect of Anthony Cole's Charity.
The two charities next mentioned are likewise
administered by the trustees of the consolidated
charities under the scheme of 1907, namely—
Joseph Martin's Charity, founded by will, proved
at Worcester 19 February 1881. The legacy of
£1,500, owing to insufficiency of assets, is represented
by £858 3s. 2d. India 3 per cent. stock, the annual
dividends of which, amounting to £25 14s. 8d., are
applicable under the scheme in pensions to poor
widows resident in the town of Bromsgrove, as
defined in 1881.
Hannah Richardson's Poor Widows' Trust, founded
by declaration of trust 1862, consisting of £101 8s. 3d.
like stock, the annual dividends of £3 0s. 8d. being
applicable in payments of 2s. each to poor widows at
Christmas.
Bishop Hall's Charity, founded by deed poll
19 March 1708 by John Hall, Bishop of Bristol,
consists of 66 a. 3 r. at or near Elmbridge, comprised
in deed of 21 March 1711, producing about £50 a
year, and a sum of £100 consols. Out of the income
£20 a year is expended in clothing poor men and
women of Bromsgrove and the residue in the distribution of Bibles in Bromsgrove, Kidderminster,
Worcester, Stourbridge, Bewdley and Droitwich.
In 1787 Simon Crane by deed charged his houses
in Bromsgrove with 20s. yearly for the benefit of
the quire of the parish church. The annuity is paid
out of a house in the High Street.
In 1800 the Rev. John Welch by his will left £20
for the poor at Christmas, represented by £23 18s. 8d.
consols, producing 12s. a year, which is distributed in
sums of 2s. to each recipient.
In 1821 James Wilkinson, by his will proved in
the P.C.C. 10 April, bequeathed an annuity of £2
to be applied, subject to keeping in repair his parents'
tomb in the churchyard, for the benefit of the poor
inmates of the almshouses in Alcester Road. In 1909
a sum of 17s. 6d. was expended in repairs of the
tomb and £3 2s. 6d. in coal to the almspeople, of
which £2 was received from land in Kidderminster
Road and £2 from houses in St. John Street, presumably in respect of this and some other charity.
In 1832 Mary Makeg, by her will proved in the
P.C.C. 14 December, bequeathed £200, the interest
—subject to the repair of her brother's tomb in the
churchyard—to be distributed to the poor in sums
not exceeding 3s. to any one family. The sum of
£180, being the legacy less duty, is secured by a
mortagage of premises at Lickey End at 4½ per cent.,
and is distributed in certain proportions by the
vicars of the several ecclesiastical districts.
In 1874 the Rev. Thomas Warren, by his will
proved at Worcester 15 September, left £200, now
represented by £212 4s. 4d. consols, the annual
dividends, amounting to £5 6s., to be applied—
subject to the repairs of tombstone to his wife in the
cemetery—in supplying warm clothing for the poor of
the congregation of St. John's. In 1910 flannel was
distributed to about forty recipients.
In 1903 Robert Anthony Hall, by his will proved
at Worcester 8 December, left £500 to be placed to
the endowment fund of the Cottage Hospital. The
legacy with other gifts, amounting together to £1,200,
has been invested on mortgage in the names of the
trustees of the hospital. The trustees of the Cottage
Hospital, under the terms of the will of the late
Mr. James Lea, proved at Worcester 12 January 1905,
acquired for the sum of £50 the testator's dwellinghouse, known as 'Fernleigh,' and other land adjoining on the New Road, and subsequently sold the
same for £871 2s., of which £471 2s. was transferred
to the extension and improvement fund and the sum
of £400 invested on mortgage as an endowment
fund.
Nonconformist charities:—
The Baptist Ministers' Endowment Fund consists
of a sum of £591 14s. 10d. consols, including the
charities of Richard Johns, founded in 1772,
originally a cottage sold for £50; of Jonathan Bell,
originally nine cottages comprised in deed 1808, sold
in 1883 for £370, and of Humphry Potter, originally
a dwelling-house, sold in 1883 for £176.
By a scheme of the Charity Commissioners 1 May
1906 the annual dividends, amounting to £14 15s. 8d.,
are applicable towards the support of the minister of
the Baptist Chapel in New Road.
In 1872 the Rev. Thomas Warren by deed gave
£150 for the benefit of the congregation of the old
Baptist Chapel. The principal sum has been lent
on mortgage at 4 per cent. By a scheme of the
Charity Commissioners 3 May 1910 the income of
£6 a year is made applicable for the benefit of poor
members of the Baptist Chapel in New Road.
The several sums of stock, unless otherwise stated,
are held by the official trustees.