Brampton Bryan Church

The vill of Brampton Bryan came into Mortimer hands in 1075.  At that time it was held by the Barre family who gave the village its second name of Brampton Barre to distinguish it from the many other Bramptons in the country. By the 1140s the Barres had been succeeded by a new family who probably married an heiress of the Domesday Richard Barre. This family took their surname from Brampton and lived here until the family died out in 1294. The vill of Brampton Bryan then passed to the Harley family. Their descendants still live in the great house built on the site of Brampton Bryan castle next to the church.  

The church as it stands today has been much altered. The bulk of the south wall is probably thirteenth century, but the rest of the church was demolished during or soon after the siege of 1643. It was then rebuilt to a peculiar shape using the modified old roof from the castle hall in 1656. This makes it one of only six churches built during the period of the Commonwealth (1649-60). If you look carefully at the exterior west wall you can still trace the ghost of the line of the original nave wall and roof.  





Within an alcove in the south wall are the reset remains of an effigy which probably represents Margaret Brampton who died early in the fourteenth century. It is likely that the effigy of her husband, Robert Harley, once lay beside her, but this has subsequently been lost.




Copyright©2013 Paul Martin Remfry

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