We have 7 Images Above Photograph(s)
Copyright of John Williams

St Swithun's Church,
Stroud Road,
Brookthorpe, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

This Church had a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded about 1250, though it is now closed, but we don't yet know when.

St Swithun's Church is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is also a Grade II Listed Building - see the British Listed Buildings website for details.

The return for "St Swithin, Brookthorpe commonly called Brookthorpe Church" to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/337/1/3/9) provides the information that it was consecrated "about the year of our Lord 1250". There was an average attendance of 55 to 65 to morning service, and 75 to 85 to afternoon service, with 30-45 Sunday Scholars to each. There were no services, or classes in the evenings. It was completed by the Vicar, "Frans. T.J. Bayley, Clk, B.A. Pemb. Coll Oxon", who remarked: "I have filled up the above Schedule as a voluntary act having no information to withhold, but distinctly protest against being legally obliged to answer a single one of the questions". According to Alumni Oxoniensis he was Francis Turner James Bayly, 1st son of Francis Turner Bayly of St John's Gloucester, cleric. He gained his B.A. in 1831, and was vicar of Brookthorpe from 1839, and of Whaddon from 1841 until his death on 14 Jan 1883. He made a similar protest about having to fill in the return for Whaddon, but nevertheless he was one of the few who were able to provide a date of consecration, for which we may be grateful.

The photographs show both external and internal views of the church, also closeups of carvings on beams high up inside the porch. One reads "Nathaniel FRAYNES 1670", the other "Richard BOOTH", with carved numerals suggesting a similar date in the 17th century.

The War Memorial, inside the church is most unusual, being carved onto one of the pillars. Unfortunately it has suffered from damp, and its inscription is barely legible, but here is my best guess:

In Memory of the Men of Brookthorpe
who died in the Great War 1914-1918
Frederick John Allaway . South Wales Bord[erers]
who joined Kitchener's Army November 1914 [at]
the age of 20 was posted Cheshire Regt. as Lass???
20 September 1917 . Born 22 November 1894 at
Dry Hill Farm Badgworth Gloucestershire.
Gunner Henry William Mallett - Barry
R.G.A. who joined the Army at the age of ??
Killed in Action at La Krule Hazebrouk 9 [May 1918]
Born 9 July 1894 at Gilberts Brookthorpe.
They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

There are other photographs of both inside and outside the church, plus two of the more unusual gravestones in our Photo Gallery of Brookthorpe elsewhere online.

Denomination

Now or formerly Church of England.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church was located at OS grid reference SO8350612266. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• St Swithun's Church, Brookthorpe shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Brookthorpe shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Brookthorpe, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Preserving “irreplaceable examples of architecture, archaeology and art from 1,000 years of history” - Churches Conservation Trust (null) (verified 2018-10-07)
• Learn more about Buildings of special or historical interest on the British Listed Buildings (null) (verified 2018-09-19)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.