Churchyard wall, gates and war memorial at the Church of St Nicholas, Bromham, Wiltshire

Summary

Churchyard wall, gates and war memorial. Erected in the C18 and altered in the C19 and C20. War memorial added at the south-east angle in about 1920.

Description

Churchyard wall, gates and war memorial. Erected in the C18 and altered in the C19 and C20. War memorial added at the south-east angle in about 1920.

MATERIALS: rubble-stone and red-brick wall, ashlar gate piers, wrought-iron gates, and a Portland stone memorial.

DESCRIPTION: the churchyard wall is constructed of red-brick laid in English bond on a squared and coursed rubble-stone base with a ridged ashlar coping. The principal gateway is set into the south wall and approached by stone steps; the coping of the wall is carved with decorative scrolls where it meets the gate piers. It has fielded and panelled ashlar piers, each topped by a cornice and ball finial, and wrought-iron gates and an overthrow. The gates were added in 1958 replacing oak gates of 1807. The west gate, at the south-west corner, and the east gate are smaller gateways, each with ogee-capped ashlar gate piers. The latter has a wrought-iron overthrow and wrought-iron gates added in 1954 to replace wooden ones.

The war memorial is set into the south-east angle of the churchyard wall and built of Portland stone. It comprises a Latin cross with an octagonal shaft resting on a square plinth and a square two-stepped base. At the centre of the cross is the monogram ‘ihs’ carved in relief and set within a circle of interweaving thorns and a rose-shaped emblem. It probably denotes the first three letters of the Greek name for Jesus or, alternatively, the Latin phrase Jesus Hominium Salvator (Jesus, Saviour of Men). The cross arms are enriched with foliage decoration and the foot of the shaft has broach stops and a moulded base. The plinth has a cornice and moulded base. On the front (south-east side) of the plinth is the inscription: TO THE/ GLORIOUS MEMORY/ OF OUR MEN WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1919. The other three sides are carved with 37 names of those that died during the conflict. On the front of the base is the inscription: AND TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF OUR MEN/ WHO FELL IN THE WORLD WAR 1939-1945/ NAMES. It includes seven names of the fallen.

History

The churchyard wall at the Church of St Nicholas, Bromham (Grade I), was built in about the C18. The south and part of the east wall appears to have two distinct phases; an earlier stone wall topped by a later brick wall with a limestone capping. There are at least two and possibly three layers of burials within the churchyard dating from the foundation of the church in the Norman period up to the late C18 (See Drew 2013 for a history of the church and churchyard). As a result of the layered burials and the later use of table tombs, excess earth has accumulated. This has led to a rise of about one metre in ground level, probably contributing to a need to increase the height of the boundary walls.

There are three gateways into the churchyard; the main south gate, the east gate and the west gate. The main south gateway originally contained oak gates, which were made in 1807 by Mr G Wootten. After suffering decay, they were replaced by the present wrought-iron gates made by E Kent and Son of Allerford near Minehead, Somerset, to a design by Lt Col J A Garton OBE who founded the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen in 1933. The new gates were erected by Humphries and Fennell of Bromham and dedicated, in heavy rain, before Matins on Sunday 5th October 1958. The east gateway has two C19 pillars, replacing earlier ones, and a 1954 wrought-iron gate that was presented to the church as a gift from the parish council to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The west gate now consists of only two stone pillars but previously had a wooden gate with a wrought-iron overthrow above it. An C18, or possibly C17, lock up (Grade II-Iisted) is situated next to the north-east corner of the churchyard wall, and there are 24 Grade II-listed chest tombs within the churchyard dating from the late-C17 onwards.

After the First World War, a memorial was erected at the south-east angle of the churchyard wall to commemorate 37 residents of Bromham who died during the conflict. It was erected in about 1920 as part of a huge wave of public commemoration across the country, which saw tens of thousands of memorials erected. The memorial was based on a design by Mowbray and Co, church furnishers based in Oxford Circus, London. An inscription was added to the memorial in 1949 by the monumental masons Morgan and Sons of Frome, Somerset, to commemorate seven residents of Bromham who lost their lives during the Second World War.

Reasons for Listing

The churchyard wall, gates and war memorial, at the Church of St Nicholas, Bromham, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as a boundary wall which illustrates the long history of St Nicholas’s churchyard, its enclosure in the C18 or earlier, and its continued importance as the location for Bromham War Memorial after the First World War;
* the war memorial serves as a poignant reminder of the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made during the First and Second World Wars;

Architectural interest:

* for the finely-crafted gate piers with fielded panels, ball finials and ogee-caps, and the well-constructed war memorial with a Latin cross decorated with emblems and foliage carving in Portland stone, and set on a octagonal shaft, plinth and base;

Group value:

* with the Grade I-listed Church of St Nicholas, one of England’s most important medieval parish churches, the 24 Grade II-listed chest tombs in the churchyard dating from the late C17 onwards, as well as the Grade II-listed village lock up, all situated within the Bromham Conservation Area.

External Links

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