England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bromley St Leonard St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Bromley St Leonard, also known as Bromley by Bow, lies in the extreme southeast of Middlesex forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Essex. Bromley St Leonard is located just over 3 miles east of the city of London and stands on the A12 road which links London with Colchester. Bromley St Leonard has a long history, it is believed to have existed as a place where the River Lea could be forded even prior to the Roman occupation, they certainly improved the crossing as they laid out their road which is now followed by the A12. The first stone bridge was built in the 12th century. Early in the medieval period a Benedictine nunnery was founded here, certainly by 1122 and perhaps pre-Conquest, the nunnery was dedicated to St Leonard adding the dedication to the plain "Bromley". The position on the River Lee allowed supplies of malt and grain to reach Bromley St Leonard from Hertfordshire and early milling industries soon developed along with textile dyeing and fulling. Even by the 17th century Bromley St Leonard was still mainly rural and a favoured destination for wealthy Londoners' mansions and a source of fresh vegetables for London from the many market gardens. The development of the area began in earnest in the 1820s, initially as housing developments but becoming much more industrialised. Industries such as a distillery and a calico dyeing works were joined by dye and chemical works, print works and an abundance of small scale manufacturing workshops. In 1860 the Bryant & May match factory opened becoming notorious during the match-girls strike in the 1880s. Modern developments of extensive railway lines added to the industrial nature of the parish which had previously seen most transport water-based (The Limehouse Cut and the navigable Lea). With all of this industrialisation came a growth in low-quality housing for the myriad of workers required and Bromley St Leonard became contiguous with the vast sprawl of Greater London. Bromley St Leonard's position and industrial nature made the area a target for enemy bombing in World War 2 and post-war developments such as the Blackwall Tunnel approach roads and the Docklands Light Railway have resulted in much rejuvenation of the area, it becoming somewhat gentrified in the early 20th century. Bromley St Leonard is drained by the River Lea which enters the Thames just south of the parish boundary and thus reaches the North Sea. Bromley St Leonard is sited almost entirely below the 10 metre contour which is met for the first time at the parish church. Bromley St Leonard was a small parish of close to 600 acres, its population grew substantially during the period of the transcript rising to almost 6,200 by its end, the volume of marriages recorded is more typical of an average population of closer to 2,500 for that period. Bromley St Leonard is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church stood on the course of the ancient A12 on Bromley High Street. The church was founded by the nunnery of St Leonard functioning as its Lady Chapel. Following the dissolution the nunnery was destroyed and the church became the parish church. Little is known of the architecture of the early church because of two events in relatively modern times which ensured its almost complete rebuild. It is assumed to have been a simple nave and chancel design. The first rebuild came in the 1840s and was unintentional, the church had become somewhat deteriorated and plans were initiated to bring things back to good order. Unfortunately the work triggered a domino-effect of structural failures as successively the Norman arch collapsed following the demolition of the southern wall, that revealed the weakness of the northern wall which, too, was demolished leaving the east wall incongruously differing in its construction such that it, too, was then demolished and rebuilt. The entire medieval church was, thus, accidentally replaced with a brand-new Victorian building, saving only a few internal monuments and small fragments of the old stone walls built into the nave corners.  The final indignity came in 1941 when a bomb made a direct hit upon the church leaving it a ruin. During the construction of the Blackwall Tunnel approach roads the site was cleared leaving only the churchyard.