About Us

St. Peter's is a small church building seating about 90 people, surrounded by a well-maintained churchyard at its very best in the spring, (daffodils/trees in blossom), and in the summer. Inside are lovely painted/stained glass and a Flaxman crafted memorial. We follow a moderate Catholic tradition. The Church porch is open daily for visitors, during daylight hours. A lot of ramblers stop-off at Broome church in the summer to eat their packed lunches, while sitting on one of the benches in the churchyard. The church is set in a quiet Hamlet.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Close to the Clent Hills, and south of Hagley, Broome is a pleasant, little known hamlet scattered around a few lanes. The Church is of mediæval origin, there has been a church on the site since at least 1154. The former twelfth century church was a chapelry to Clent. However it was re-built approximately 245 years ago, and is an attractive brick built building with a west tower, nave and chancel, in a churchyard with ancient yew trees. The use of bricks, instead of local sandstone, indicated local wealth at the time.

The ecclesiastical parish was extended by Acts of Parliament to include part of Chaddesley Corbett, (1904), and Clent and Churchill-in-Halfshire ecclesiastical parishes, (1927). The parish, which slopes down from the Clent Hills to the north, has an area of just under 750 acres, (304 ha), measuring 1½, (east to west), by 2, (north to south), miles, (2½ x 3 km). As well as the hamlet of Broome itself, it includes the hamlets of Hackman’s Gate and Yeildingtree, parts of West Hagley and the surrounding countryside. The 2021 Census recorded a population of 1,961 for the ecclesiastical parish.

The small, yet plain nave, can accommodate approximately 80 or so people. It has three ornamental geometrical windows, with clear glazing which is typical of the eighteenth century. They were installed by T.W. Camm Stained Glass of Smethwick in the nineteenth century. Hagley Free Church also has windows manufactured by the same company. At 44”, (112 cm), the aisle is reputedly the narrowest in the county. The carvings on the 16 pews are not all the same, they were installed in 1879, replacing ‘high boxed’ pews. The embroidered kneelers were made by members of the congregation for the church’s bicentenary in 1980, featuring the ‘Α’ and ‘Ω’ letters from the Greek alphabet. The fish, the boat, crossed keys and a cross with the letter ‘P’ relate to St. Peter.

The original Norman round font has survived. It was assembled in 1897, when it was found buried in the Rector’s garden. It is carved with 15 arches with beaded decoration and six grotesque heads with large eyes. Dating from the mid twelfth century, it is quite possibly a relic of Maurice de Ombersley’s church.

The gallery has two circular windows and can seat about 10 people. From here access to the belfry is possible, along with a hatch allowing access above the nave ceiling. The west tower, (33'6” or 10.25 m), has four round-headed latticed bell openings, two circular windows and a pyramid roof, topped by a weather vane. The tower and staircase, of 1861, is not blended in, and three different types of brickwork can be observed. Before then the porch was entered where the stairs are now.

Inside the nave is a memorial to Ann Hill (Lilly), who died in 1804, erected by her husband, Thomas Hill of Broome House, (the previous rectory). His father built Christ Church in Lye, Stourbridge. It is by John Flaxman, of London. He was well known for his work in the Georgian period, with other monuments in Chichester and Gloucester Cathedrals and Westminster Abbey. Ann is shown in profile, seated on the ground and reading a book. Other memorials on the walls are for members of the Harris family, also of Broome House. These are the oldest memorials in the church.

The short chancel was extended east to double its length in 1861, using similar bricks in keeping with the original style, which was most unusual in the age of Gothic Revival.

The lectern is a flying eagle, and is the symbol of John the Baptist. It was not until the Reformation that the lectern became prominent in English parish churches. St. Peter’s does not have a pulpit, instead sermons are read from the lectern. The eagle is also carved on one of the two priests' stalls, along with other gospel writers, (St. Matthew, the divine man, St. Mark, a winged lion, and St. Luke, a winged ox).

The modern organ console is located in the choir. The present organ was installed in 1992, by Trevor Tipple of Worcester, (the company is now defunct). The pipes are located at the west end of the church. In the nineteenth century, there was not an organ, the choir was given the note by a little pipe. There have been two previous organs, both were located in the gallery, (the old pipes still remain). The first one was powered by bellows, the second, (installed in 1913 by Lyndsay Gerrard, (who also installed the organ in St. Saviours, West Hagley and Holy Trinity, Belbroughton)), used electricity.

The east window, (1870), and the south windows in the chancel and sanctuary, (1878), were installed by Hardman & Co, from the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, who also installed some windows in St. John the Baptist, Cirencester, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin and St Chad’s RC Cathedral, Birmingham. The east window is not ‘stained’ glass, rather a painted one. It depicts Christ appearing to St. Peter. The window in the sanctuary shows Christ carrying his cross, and may consist of fragments of glass taken from windows elsewhere. Under this window is a small locked ambry, where consecrated bread and wine may be stored.

The altar was given to the church by George William Grosvenor, (1846-1923), of Broome House, a parishioner, Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Worcestershire and carpet manufacturer in Kidderminster, and his wife. It is unusual, as the priest has to stand with their back to the congregation when giving Communion. In Victorian times, the wall behind the altar, (reredos), had carvings in alabaster, today the oak panelling dates from 1931, and is dedicated to Rev’d Joseph Handforth Bourne. The communion rails were donated by the Rev’d C Chetwode Hamilton in 1913.

The 1780 church had two bells in the tower, one of them remains in use. It was made by John Martin of Worcester in 1672, who also manufactured the bells at St Swithun’s Church in Worcester, (now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust), one of the oldest sets of ringing bells in the UK, and at several other churches especially in this and also the Diocese of Hereford. The bell has cannons and it was quarter turned when it was rehung by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough in 1969. It is hung for ‘swing chiming’ between two steel girders on the eastern side of the bell chamber. The fittings include an elm headstock, ball bearings and an iron chiming lever. The re-hanging was carried out under the sub-contractors A.H. Guest Ltd of Stourbridge at a cost of £112. The bell has a diameter of 19⅞”, (50 cm), ringing note A at 1,760½ Hz. It weighs 158 lbs, (72 kg).

The second bell, (possibly the one that used to hang on a tree outside), is thought to date to the fifteenth century. This was removed in 1940, and hung under a shelter outside as a memorial to Rev’d Thomas Monahan, but it broke into two pieces, and had to be removed. It has been awaiting repair since then.

Broome, along with Clent, was seized by the Sheriff of Staffordshire before the Norman conquest, and remained an exclave of Staffordshire until 1844, when it reverted back into Worcestershire. Indeed, the far northwest of the parish today is less than ¾ of a mile, (1 km), from the Staffordshire border. However, the church was never a part of the Diocese of Lichfield, it has always remained in the Diocese of Worcester.

Founded by Maurice de Ombersley, the Lord of the Manor in the twelfth century, between 1199 and 1539, it was controlled by Black Ladies Priory in Brewood, near Stafford, then the Duke of Suffolk for a matter of days before passing to the Whorwood family, and later the Dolman family.

Mary Penn, of Harborough Hall, (between Blakedown and West Hagley), married Rev’d Thomas Dolman, Rector of Broome in the 1730’s. William Shenstone, (local poet and landscape gardener), was their nephew. Thomas and Nathaniel Dolman were both rectors here between 1681-1691 and later 1709-1745. The parish was mostly common land which was enclosed in the eighteenth century.

A visitation by the Bishop of Worcester, the Right Reverend James Johnson, in 1773, described the church as being in "a bad state of repair”, hence the rebuilding of the current church in the 1780’s.

In 1889, a village school was built, it was closed in 1933, and the children were transferred to Blakedown. This is now the Village Hall. It is still owned by the church, however it is run by a separate charitable trust.

The Vestry was built in 1936/7, and later extended in 1973.

On Christmas morning 1956, a service by The Bishop of Worcester, the Right Reverend Mervyn Charles-Edwards, was broadcast live on the BBC Midland Home Service from St. Peter’s.

By 1990, the nave roof was in danger of collapse. It was saved by the installation of tie-rods at a cost of £10,000.

The distance from the west door to the altar wall is 56’5”, (17.2 m), the nave width is 15’7”, (4.6 m), and the nave height is 17’, (5.2 m).

LIST OF RECTORS OF BROOME

1190-1203 Alexander de Brimsfield

1203-? Brother John

1397-? Dom Philip

1540-? Thomas Beche

1558-? Thomas Wareole

?-? Thomas Farmer

1567-? Richard Mytton

1585-1614 Thomas Cox

1622-? William Underhill

1655-1662 Humphrey Waldron

1662-1681 Alexandra Lawder

1681-1682 Nathaniel Dolman

1682-1691 Thomas Dolman

1691-1706 John Saunders

1706-1709 Richard Corns

1709-1745 Thomas Dolman

1745-1770 Thomas Bradburne

1770-1783 John Dolman

1783-1811 John Dudley

1811-1858 Edward Dudley

1858-1897 Joseph Green Bourne, (buried here),

1897-1909 Joseph Handforth Bourne, (buried here),

1909-1913 C. Chetwode Hamilton

1913-1921 Joseph Handforth Bourne, (buried here),

1921-1924 G. H. Seeley

1924-1928 A. McGhee

1928-1939 Thomas Frederick Monahan, (buried here),

1940-1941 Cecil J. Chesshire

1941-1949 Eustace Bertram Rivers de Jersey, (buried here),

1949-1967 Charles Marsh

1967-1987 Walter Richard Iliffe

1987-2007 Norman John Davis

2007-2017 Paul Harrison

2018-2020 Canon Sue Oliver

2021-2024 Canon Wyn Beynon

2024- Shaun Armstrong

CREDITS

Archive & Archaeology Service, Worcestershire County Council;

Archive Service, Staffordshire County Council;

Barker, Gill, St. Peter’s Church, Broome;

Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry - “Monumental Inscriptions, St. Peter’s Church, Broome, Worcestershire”, 1981;

Bridges, Tim, Worcestershire Archaeological Society;

Church of England, Data Services Team;

Diocese of Worcester;

https://www.morganfourman.com;

HM Office for National Statistics;

Middle, Fiona & John, St. Peter’s Church, Broome;

Noakes, John, “Guide to Worcestershire”, ISBN-13. 978-1113847157 (1868), BiblioBazaar, Reprinted 2009;

Ordnance Survey Ltd;

Parkes, Geoffrey, “Broome - A Worcestershire Village” Broome Parochial Church Council, 1978;

Pevsner, Nikolaus, (updated by Brooks, Alan) “Buildings of England, Pevsner Architectural Guides - Worcestershire”, ISBN-13. 978-0300112986, Yale University Press, 2007;

Skerratt, Robin, St. Peter’s Church, Broome;

The congregation & clergy, past and present, of St. Peter’s Church, Broome;

Miles Coop, Churchwarden, St. Peter’s Church, Broome. 2024.