England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Brampton Bryan St Barnabas

The Parish

The parish of Brampton Bryan lies in the extreme northwest of Herefordshire forming borders with both Shropshire and with Radnoshire & Wales including a 3-counties meet at its northwestern corner. Brampton Bryan is located about 6 miles east of the Radnorshire market town of Knighton and stands on the A4113 road which links Knighton with Leintwardine. Brampton Bryan is a crossroads settlement with most properties lying close to the A4113 or along northward and southward running lanes. Brampton Bryan has had an "interesting" history in particular in relation to its castle which fell foul of Royalist forces during the Civil War in 1643, almost the entire village including the church was burnt, the castle despite the gallant efforts of Lady Brilliana Hurley to defend it is now a complete ruin. Brampton Bryan sits on the southern banks of the River Teme with steeply rising ground to the southwest into Brampton Bryan Park, that position gave the parish a varied farming economy with roughly equal amounts of arable and pastoral land. Brampton Bryan is drained eastwards by the Teme which eventually meets the Severn and thereby partakes on that river's long journey to the sea arriving through the Bristol Channel. Brampton Bryan is sited at around 130 metres but land quickly rises to summit within Brampton Bryan Park at 333 metres whilst further southwest into Radnorshire 400 metres is readily met. Like most upland parishes it took many acres to support a viable population, Brampton Bryan parish covered 3,000 acres and supported around 250 parishioners. In Domesday times as a border settlement Brampton Bryan was just a tiny place held by Ralph de Mortimer offering merely a single plough, a share in a second and 5 leagues of woodland, a feature still of the area.

The Church

St Barnabas' church sits on the western side of the lane which crosses the Teme into Shropshire. Following its burning in 1643 the church was phoenix-like rebuilt by 1656 for Brilliana's son Edward Hurley. The majority of the fabric thus dates from the time of Cromwell's Commonwealth, a highly unusual time for Anglican church building. Some fabric from the original medieval church was available to be incorporated notably parts of the aisled nave, the remainder is best described as Jacobean with Victorian & Georgian overlain for the church has been heavily modified in the 19th century. The Georgians began that process in a campaign from 1831 to 1833, mostly for restoration although the vestry was added. In 1858 the clock-turret cum bell-turret was added and this work was followed in 1888 by a through refresh of most of the windows including removing the 1858 east window to the opposite end. Internally the 1888 work created today's raised chancel complete with an intarsia floor. The lane passing the church has ample space for parking outside the gates, broad and wooden, sadly for the photographer the church sits within a woodland with most aspects totally screened by foliage, only views from directly south are adequate.