Church Of St Mary

Church of St Mary, Bromsberrow

A parish church with origins in the 13th and 14th centuries, substantially modified in later periods. The building comprises a nave and chancel with a north aisle, western tower, south porch, chancel, and north chapel, with a vestry to the west of the nave aisle.

The main structure is built of squared, coursed rubble with ashlar dressings. The tower is constructed of poorly-squared stone with larger quoins, and features a timber-framed top with white painted infill. The timber-framed porch stands on a stone plinth at the same level as the nave. Roofs are tiled throughout except for the spire, which is shingled, and the chancel, which has stone slates.

The south facade presents the tower base at the same width as the nave, with a small buttress on the left and a pointed lancet. A parapet gable rises on the left up to the tower, topped with a 19th-century moulded kneeler. The tower itself features vertical tile hanging with a moulded sill, above which timber framing continues with two rows of square panels. Three flat-headed, louvred openings sit in the centre, with offset shouldering and a further three louvred openings above. An octagonal spire rises above, pierced with small louvred openings on cardinal faces with lean-to roofs and topped by an iron weathervane. The nave, slightly higher than the tower base, displays a lancet with traceried head on the left.

A boarded door in an arched opening is sheltered by a gabled porch with original corner posts, wide door jambs, and a framed gable topped with a timber cross. An arch-braced collar truss is visible inside the porch. Two three-light timber traceried windows with traceried heads sit on each side of the nave. To the right is a further three-light traceried window with a cambered head, accompanied by a square-set buttress and a parapet gable with a cross-gablet apex and stone cross.

The chancel, set back slightly from the main body, contains a two-light traceried window with a flat head and an arched boarded door in a chamfered surround. A wooden sundial sits to the right of the door, with a diagonally-set corner buttress nearby. Moulded timber eaves and a 19th-century carved kneeler top the parapet gable, which is crowned with a square base and apex cross.

The east face shows a vertical joint between the chancel and chapel with matching corner buttresses. Both the chancel and chapel east windows are three-light with traceried heads. A wall monument sits on the chapel's north wall.

Interior walls are plastered except in the tower. A wide, flat-headed opening to the tower is spanned by a timber beam dated 1502, with contemporary close-studded framing above. A three-bay arcade with octagonal piers, moulded caps and bases, opens to the aisle. The chancel arch is wide with no capitals. The nave roof features a moulded wallplate and arch-braced collar rafters with a collar purlin. The chancel has a collar rafter roof with curved braces and ashlar pieces, a moulded collar purlin, and moulded wallplates. Glazed modelled tiles run below a cable string course around the east end. An ornate piscina in a corner beneath a canopy stands on a stem.

A plain semi-circular arch opens to the Yate Chapel (1725) with simple capitals, wrought-iron gates, and a surrounding frame dated 1781. The chapel features a plastered barrel vault with a moulded ridge timber and decorative moulding to the east end.

A large marble wall monument on the west wall commemorates John Yates, died 1749, formed as a pyramid on a sarcophagus. Three other wall monuments occupy the north side, alongside two Civil War banners in a glass case. Four late 18th and early 19th-century wall monuments stand under the tower, with one dated 1621 in the chancel. A plain tub-shaped Norman font sits on a stone base from 1875. An 1860 stone pulpit features a ballflower cornice and a lamb and banner in full relief on a corbel. Communion rails of ornate carved yew by D. Smith of Ledbury date to around 1860. Two Yates' hatchments (1749 and 1785), Royal Arms from 1779, and a benefactions board from 1845 are displayed in the nave.

Five stained glass windows are by Kempe, some dated 1886 and 1887. The chapel east window retains some 17th and medieval glass.

The north aisle was added in 1858, replacing two earlier galleries. The timber-framed tower and spire replaced an earlier tower with a pyramid roof. The tracery east windows likely date to 19th-century restoration. The top of the tower and spire were rebuilt in 1875, and a vestry was added in 1910.