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The Church of St. Nicholas in Bromham village, Wiltshire, is an outstanding example of a unique blend of styles – combining a sound Norman original structure and the superb characteristic of Gothic architecture in its additions. This ancient landmark, dedicated to St. Nicholas, dates back to the early part of the 12th century – with the north and west walls of the nave and the lower part of the tower possibly even older. All that remains
of this original structure today is part of the west and north wall
of the nave which has two narrow round-headed blocked windows and
traces of a blocked round-headed doorway. On the outside of the north
wall there are two small Norman-designed windows and a door frame,
also early Norman, leading into the vestry which still supports a
door that was fitted in the 15th century. The Norman church was originally built in the early part of the 12th century and consisted of a nave and chancel only. Of this part of the west and north walls of the nave remain. The church was rebuilt in the 13th century to incorporate a south transept and central tower, a chantry chapel to the south of the chancel, a south porch with a room above it, an embattled central tower with an octagonal spire and a vestry. The frame of the doorway leading into the sacristy, although now concealed by plaster, is thought to be original from the time the tower was built around the year 1200. It appears the chantry was erected at the same period, and by the same persons, as that attached to St. John's Church at Devizes. The spire is the focal point of the village and it's crowning achievements were the addition of a stupendous spire, stretching over 60 feet above the top part of the tower. In 1291 the Church of Bromham was valued at £16. In 1341, it was assessed at the same value but was said actually to be worth less. Today you can
see evidence in the form of an early 13th century wall seat beneath
the perpendicular large window in the transept. A glass case contains
the top of an early 13th century incense boat of limoges enamel and
an octagonal font dating back to the 15th century. The frieze and
cornice of the exterior of the church are charged with roses, chains
and various quarterings of arms and at the ends of the labels, or
weather mouldings around the windows are sculptured angels holding
shields. The figure of an angel is likewise placed over the east window,
supporting figures of children. In the 14th century an aisle and porch were added and sometime later the walls of the nave were made higher and it was re-roofed. In the east angles of the nave are corbels of angels bearing the emblems of the Passion. Over the eastern portion of the nave, where the roof loft was, the roof is panelled and coloured. The ribs are supported on corbel heads. The windows of the nave and aisle are all Third Pointed – at the west a large one of five lights; another similar one on the south; one on the north square headed of three lights and another has lost its tracery. A separate house, which formerly belonged to the church called Church House, was also built in the 1300's and originally consisted of a half-timber construction. Today this building – in High Street – is a private dwelling, but prior to that it was a grocery/bakery shop and in the early 19th century it was used as the Village Poorhouse. The south aisle was built early in the 15th century and had a pitched roof. Also at this time the south porch was built with a room above it.
Because so many of the Bayntun family lie buried in the crypt beneath this chapel, it is more commonly known today as the Bayntun Chapel and is an interesting example of elaborate and richly decorated Gothic style of the mid 15th century, especially as it retains its original ceiling, window glass, tombs and other features. It is separated from the chancel and transept by contemporary terraced oak screens.
In 1494 Sir Richard Beauchamp, Lord St. Amand and his wife, Anne, were licensed to give about 80 acres of land at Stockley and 11 acres at Whetham to the Chantry Chapel. It is not clear whether the chantry held all the land at the Dissolution of the Monasteries but some land at Stockley was among the endowments of the chantry concealed from the Crown at the Dissolution. The interior of the chapel is painted and decorated with various gilt figures and from the number of nails fixed in the wall, it is supposed that it was hung round with pieces of armour and warlike trophies; but at present there are only two helmets and two flags, with part of a doublet and gauntlets remaining.
Before 1500, the south aisle of the church was again under construction when it was altered and the south transept was rebuilt in the same style and the steep-pitched nave roof was replaced with the present one of low pitch to match that of the chantry chapel. Soon after, the upper part of the tower was rebuilt. The tower is 180 feet from its base to the summit of the spire. On the south wall of the chantry chapel you can clearly see the pinnacled buttresses and battlement parapet.
Her inscription
reads: It was a fitting
resting place for his mother to be the first person to be buried in
the chancel built in her name. Her son, Richard Beauchamp died in
1508 – without a male heir – and John Bayntun of Faulston
House, his cousin, inherited a fortune in land and property,
but more importantly, the Lordship
of the Manor of Bromham Roches.
The translation
reads: The Chapel displays his heraldry and that of his stepson, Sir Richard Beauchamp, and his family including the Bayntuns after whom the Chapel is most commonly named. Although the Beauchamp Chapel is a fascinating insight into the history of the Bayntun family, there were more significant additions to the church following the completion of this chantry chapel of the Blessed Virgin. In 1510 the upper part of the tower, which had crenelated battlements and four bells, was altered and the octagonal stone spire was first built. Since then the spire has had some major repairs to it on four occasions in the last 100 years or so. On the north of the tower is a door having nicely carved woodwork, opening to steps that lead to the roof-loft and also a sacristy. The tower itself rises on three pointed arches, opening to the nave, chancel and south aisle, which are continuous. In that part of the aisle which passes the tower is a five light window. John Bayntun died in 1516 and on the floor, near the tomb of Lady Elizabeth Beauchamp, is a slab bearing a brass effigy of a man in armour, nearly three feet long with an inscription, in Latin, written around the edges. The translation
reads:
In 1535 the rectory was valued at £15 - 7s - 4d and at the time of the Dissolution of the Chantries the Beauchamp Chapel was passed onto the crown. The chantry chapel then became the private chapel of the Bayntun family and the chantry house and endowments were leased by the crown to various tenants. Sir Edward Bayntun – son of the above mentioned John Bayntun, in his will, asked to be buried in the same chapel but he died in France in 1544 while attending his Royal Master, King Henry VIII and subsequently his body was never returned. His son – Sir Andrew Bayntun – was another who was not buried in the Beauchamp Chapel and when he died in 1564 his body was laid to rest in St. Andrew's Church, Chippenham, where his badly preserved tomb is in the south chancel, rebuilt as chantry to the Virgin Mary, now known as The Lady Chapel. It is not known why he, or his family, chose St. Andrew's as his final resting place and not the Beauchamp Chapel. The Latin
inscription on his tomb reads: Translation: Sir Andrew's brother – Sir Edward Bayntun – inherited the Manor of Bromham when Andrew died without a male heir, and when he died in 1593 he was the next member of the family to be buried in the chapel. His large tomb is very interesting and includes brass figures of a Knight kneeling with his two wives and two of his three children that were alive at the time of their father's death. The brass figure of one daughter is missing. The tomb-crest of this fine marble monument has shields in lozenges and is supported by two columns with brasses against the back wall. The rhyming
couplet reads: There is no memorial for Sir Edward's son – Sir Henry Bayntun – who died in 1616. He was most likely buried in the crypt below the church and there is a stone insetted in the church floor in honour of his achievements. Sir Henry was responsible for building the The Almshouses – six little cottages for the poor of the town. The memorial
stone reads: His son and heir – Sir Edward Bayntun – who died in 1657 is also buried in the crypt. He commanded a force for Parliament in the early part of the first Civil War and was a Commissioner of the English Parliament to the Scots Army. There is a memorial stone in his memory on the north side of the chapel. It reads:
The church suffered considerable damage during the Parliamentary period and extensive repairs were taken in 1661. In 1671 the rectory also included four houses and their gardens and the Rector had the right to pasture six beasts on the common. Sir Edward's son and heir – another Sir Edward Bayntun – was the next descendant to be laid to rest in the crypt in 1679. The plaque
in his memory reads: His son and heir – Henry Bayntun – died in 1691, and he too was buried in the crypt along with his wife, Lady Anne Wilmot. There is a plaque in the front chapel under the window in honour of Sir Henry. The inscription
reads: There is a white marble slab in honour of Henry's wife, Lady Anne Wilmot, erected by her children and surmounted by a coat of arms. Her inscription
reads: Their son – John Bayntun – inherited the Manor of Bromham when only 15 years old, but like his father he too died young, aged only 27 in 1716. He was married but had no children and subsequently his sister, Anne Rolt (nee Bayntun), inherited the family fortune. There is a plaque on the east wall of the chapel in honour of John Bayntun. This plaque
reads:
A spectacular event of the 18th century in Bromham was the visit of a steeple flyer in 1735 to the church. His method was to have a rope fixed from the top of the church steeple, passed through a grove in a board and held taut at ground level by a tree. The flyer was tied to the board and as he flew down the stretched rope the steeple did not stand the stress of the man and gave way when he was half way down. The flyer fell head first, but was lucky to escape serious injury – his fall was broken by a tree in the churchyard. A poetic account
written at the time describes the event as: In the mid-18th century the number of bells in the tower was increased from four to six at a cost of £820. It is not known when the first clock was incorporated in the tower but an account for the cleaning of the church clock is dated 1743 and a painting of the church by Buckler some years later shows the old clock with a diamond-shaped face. The churchwardens accounts mentions "For clensing the clock = 7s - 6d". Anne Bayntun's son – Sir Edward Bayntun Rolt – inherited the Manor of Bromham upon the death of his uncle, John Bayntun, when only 6 years old and the remainder of the Bayntun fortune when his mother died in 1734. He was Lord of the Manor for 83 years and when he died in 1800 he was buried in the family crypt alongside his wife who died a year earlier. There is a tablet, in his memory, draped on a black slab on the south wall of the chapel. It reads: Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Edward, had died just 6 months before her mother and was also buried in the Bayntun crypt. An inscription
in the church reads: There is also a brass tablet in memory of Constantia, another of Sir Edward Bayntun Rolt's daughters, who pre-deceased her parents. The inscription
reads: When Sir Edward's son and heir – Sir Andrew Bayntun Rolt– died in 1816, he was also laid to rest in the crypt below the chapel. A tablet draped
on a black slab reads: Following his death, his daughter, Maria Barbara Bayntun Rolt was named as his only legal heir and his grandson – John Edward Andrew Bayntun Starky – became Lord of the Manor of Bromham. There is no record as to the whereabouts of Maria Barbara's remains and it is unclear if she is buried with the Bayntuns. She did remarry John Lowe and is quite possibly buried elsewhere. On the east side of the chapel, there are two stones on the floor, side by side, in memory of Maria Barbara and John Starky's children. Both had pre-deceased their father. These inscriptions
read: When their father died, he too was buried in the Bayntun crypt. His inscription
reads:
John Edward Andrew Starky's second son died four days after birth and there is a stone in his memory in the south side of the chapel on the floor. The inscription
reads: When John Edward Andrew Bayntun Starky died in 1843, he too was also laid to rest with the others. His plaque
reads: Early in the 19th century, the south aisle and porch were partly rebuilt. In 1843 the sacristy was added to the north wall of the tower. The same year the old church box pews were removed and replaced and a new pulpit and reading desk were provided. This reading desk has now been removed to the churchyard.
When Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, died in 1852 there was an large Celtic cross erected in the churchyard in his memory, which stands 18 feet high. Moore lived nearby for 35 years. The west window in the nave is also in his memory. In 1855 the Rev. W.C. Lukis recorded the inscriptions on the church bells. The first, third and fifth bells bore the initials of the maker – William Purdue – and the six bells weighed a total of 2 tons, 14 cwts, 3qts and 18 lbs. When the chancel was rebuilt in 1864, several monuments were removed to other parts of the church. In 1865 the 12th century chancel was declared unsafe and was demolished and completely rebuilt exactly as the original construction at the expense of the Rector. Several monuments were removed at this time to other parts of the church. In 1870 a superb example of 19th century glass was installed in the west window representing the Last Judgment which was erected in memory of the poet, Thomas Moore. Another of Maria Barbara's sons – Coventry – is also remembered in the chapel. His plaque
reads: In 1871 the clock was again replaced. An extract from an edition of the North Wilts Church Magazine, dated September 1871, reads: "During the past month, the old clock at Bromham Church, which had been up more than a hundred years, has been taken down and replaced by a new one at a cost of 100 guineas". The Bayntun Starky family were settled in New Zealand at this time, having first emigrated to NSW in Australia. There are memorials to some of these descendants, including that of John Bayntun Starky – the last Lord of the Manor of Bromham to live in Bromham. However this monument displays his date of death incorrectly. He died in 1872. The plaque
reads: In 1875. The
Medieval pearl of six bells were all re-cast – the earliest dating
back to 1657 – and were re-hung on new frames.
In 1875 the medieval pearl of six bells were taken down and recast and again re-hung in new frames and fittings by John Warner & Sons of London at a cost of £364 - 9s - 6d. The earliest of these dated back to 1657. Queen Victoria made a contribution of £100 towards the cost. The new bells had a combined weight of 3 tons 5 cwts, 1qt, 27 lbs. In 1879 a new organ was erected, which replaced an older model of 1848. It was made by Foster & Andrews of Hull at a cost of £300. John Edward Starky's wife – Charlotte Wyndham – outlived her husband by over 50 years and after her death she joined him in his final resting place. She was 90 years old and the last person to be buried in the Bayntun crypt in 1896. There is a painted glass window in the chapel in her honour. This beautiful
memorial reads: Following Charlotte's death, the vault below the chapel was sealed up permanently with a large stone (measuring 2 metres x 1 metre). This vault was used from 1492 until 1896 and the Bromham Burial Records did not start until 1560. But even these records do not include everybody who went into the vault and those buried in the churchyard. It is very likely there were many other members of the Bayntun family laid to rest there, unaccounted for, especially the children of the various generations throughout the centuries. In 1899 the top of the spire was re-built, for the first time since it's erection. In 1901 the church estate consisted of six cottages in Church Row and shops and houses elsewhere in Bromham. Its origin was not known, but it was then stated that accounts relating to the property went back as far as 1783. The income was used by the churchwardens for general expenses. In 1905 the chapel roof underwent some major repair and was re-leaded. In the early twentieth century, the Irish curate at St Nicholas Church, Rev. A. S. Hartigan, thought that Thomas Moore deserved a better tomb than the plain slab that marked his resting place at that time. He organised a collection and a Memorial Committee was formed which included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The new monument – a Celtic Cross – was dedicated in October 1906. It had been made by Harrison and Sons of Blackrock, Dublin. In 1911 a second face was added to the church clock to mark the Coronation of King George V. In 1913 an oak case to the instrument and the organ stool was given by Rev. J.L. and Mrs. Thorold. In 1920 the walls of the nave and aisles were enhanced and refitted with some new oak paneling. John Bayntun Starky's wife, Frances Anne, died in 1921 and a memorial stone in her memory was erected in the chapel. The stone
reads: In 1932 the spire was again repaired. In 1947 an electric blower was added to the church organ. In 1949 the bells were again re-hung and new timbers were added to support them. In 1952 the spire needed some more work done to it. In 1957 a thorough cleaning of the church revealed many interesting features. In 1971 there was a memorial stone insetted in memory of John Michael Bayntun Starky who died in Brackenfield, New Zealand the same year. His memorial
stone reads: In 1986 the nave and aisle were re-roofed and a new stone floor laid in the nave and transept. In 1987 the spire needed some more work done to it and the church was re-floored at the same time. The vault of the Banks family was accidentally exposed during this project, revealing the brass-studded, leather covered coffins and vault stones in excellent condition. The vault and its contents were left untouched and the new floor laid on top. In 1990 the bells were taken down, re-tuned and supplied with new fittings and again re-hung on the same frame. This work was carried out by John Taylor of Loughborough.
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