I visited Brampton Bryan on my way to Shropshire because Jennifer had pointed out how attractive the village was. And although it was early spring with frost on the ground the village didn’t disappoint. After I had taken the picture above I walked into the church grounds just beside.
A lovely lady was walking her dog and decided to become my local guide. She explained that the Bramston Bryan Castle (which is now a ruin in private ownership and couldn’t be visited) was held by Puritan forces. The Royalists attacked the castle and village. My “guide” told me that In order to be able to shoot at the castle they had to destroy the church, which was in the way of the canon balls.
The royalists succeeded, but of course for a time the Puritan forces under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell took over the country, and during this period the Puritans rebuilt the church (1656). One of only six in the country that was built during the Commonwealth time. True to its Puritan ideals, the church interior wasn’t very attractive (in my opinion), although it had a very nice hammerhead roof. It was commissioned by Robert Harley and paid for by him and is a simple “Puritan preaching box”. But I liked the outside much more with creepers growing across the graves.
I was researching the history of Brampton Bryan, its castle and church to find confirmations of what my lady guide told me. In the dominantly royalist Herefordshire, the castle was controlled by a Puritan MP, Robert Harley. The castle came under attack twice during 1643 and 1644 and the defence was led by Harley’s wife, Brilliana. And the Royalists took over the castle and a lot of the village was burned down. But I couldn’t find any confirmation that the church had been torn down for the Royalists to be able to fire upon the castle. Instead one post mentioned that a cannon was placed in the tower of the original church to bombard the castle. But true or not, I had a great time photographing the village accompanied by my impromptu guide and her dog!
