BROADWAS
Bradewesse (viii cent.); Bradewasse (x cent.);
Bradewesham (xi cent.); Bradewa, Bradewasse (xii
cent.); Bradwas, Bradwes (xvii cent.); Bredweys
(xviii cent.).
Broadwas is a parish in the west of Worcestershire
on the left bank of the River Teme, which forms
its southern and part of its western boundary. It
is watered, also, by a small tributary of the Teme,
and covers 1,108 acres, much of the land near the
river being liable to floods. The southern part of
the parish lies in the valley of the Teme, but the
rest is hilly, reaching a height of 200 ft. above the
ordnance datum to the north of the village and on
the northern boundary. The greater part of the
parish consists of rich pasture land, 683 acres being
laid down in permanent grass. Only 9½ acres are
covered by woodland, distributed for the most part in
small copses, but the fields are well planted with
timber; 312 acres are arable land, (fn. 1) the chief crops
being wheat, beans and hops. The parish was at
one time famous for its cider. The soil is loam and
marl with gravel and marl subsoil.
The village is picturesque and lies chiefly on the
north and south of the main road from Worcester to
Bromyard, the land becoming higher and more
irregular as the hills on the west are approached.
The church lies in a wooded hollow to the south-west of the village close to the River Teme.
On the north side of the village is a half-timber
house known as 'The Butts.' It consists of a centre
and two larger wings projecting irregularly from the
front. The chimney stacks are of ashlar work and
each is surmounted by twin shafts of brick. The
curved beams springing from the ground to the gable,
as well as the roof beams in the attic, render it very
probable that the centre and part of the northern
wing were originally an open hall of 15th-century
date or even earlier, the chimney stacks being 17th-century additions.
In 1884 the part of Broadwas lying south of the
River Teme was, by order of the Local Government
Board, amalgamated with Leigh, and the part of
Alfrick to the north of the Teme was united to
Broadwas. At the same time part of Broadwas was
transferred to Cotheridge. (fn. 2)
Former place-names in this parish include Foxbaece (viii cent.), which had become Foxbatch in the
18th century (fn. 3) ; Rugghey Glebe and Rugg Hill (fn. 4) (xviii
cent.). Other place-names found in the 18th
century are Brach, Hopyards and Noyts, Cilliers,
Grumspleck and Taberness. (fn. 5)
The 'Butts,' Broadwas
MANOR
Offa, King of the Mercians, granted
land at BROADWAS to the monks of
Worcester about 786. (fn. 6) It was at an early
date annexed to the manor of Hallow, and, though it
is not mentioned by name in the charter, it was
probably freed, like Hallow, from all secular services
in 816 by King Coenwulf. (fn. 7) The monks of Worcester
held Broadwas at the time of the Domesday Survey, (fn. 8)
and it was confirmed to them in 1148 by Simon
Bishop of Worcester. (fn. 9) In 1240 the demesne included
a court with an orchard and vineyard, (fn. 10) 3 carucates
of land with the land of Doddenham, a meadow,
grove, fulling-mill and corn-mill. (fn. 11)
The prior obtained a grant of free warren in the
manor in 1256. (fn. 12) From that time until the dissolution of the monastery the manor remained with
the priory. Its value at the Dissolution was
£35 18s. 10½d. yearly. (fn. 13) Henry VIII granted it in
1542, with other possessions of the priory, to the
Dean and Chapter of Worcester. (fn. 14) This grant was
confirmed by James I, (fn. 15) but under the Commonwealth
the manor was sold by the Parliamentary Trustees in
1650 to Henry Pitt. (fn. 16) In the previous year the
farm-house of the manor had been sold to Edmund
Pitt. (fn. 17) The manor was then charged with a yearly
payment of £20 towards the maintenance of a free
grammar school in the city of Worcester. (fn. 18) It was
restored to the Dean and Chapter of Worcester on
the accession of Charles II, William and Mary confirming to them the manor and manorial rights
in 1692, (fn. 19) and they have continued to hold the
manor until the present day.
Court baron and court leet for the manor were
still held in the 18th century. (fn. 20)
About 1561 the Dean and Chapter leased the site
of the manor to John Cratford and his daughters
Elizabeth and Joan for £8 14s. 4d., and the third
and tenth sheaf of corn growing on the arable
land, these sheaves being afterwards commuted for
£2 10s. 10d. (fn. 21) After John's death his daughter Joan
wife of William Doughtie instituted proceedings to
recover the property, which had been seized by her
kinsman John Cratford, son of Humphrey Cratford
of Croome, co. Worcester, and by her sister Elizabeth
wife of Richard Whitney. It does not appear
whether she was successful, but in 1636 Charles
Cratford obtained from the dean and chapter a lease
of the farm of the manor. (fn. 22) Cratford was indicted
about 1618–19 for an alleged tampering with a book
containing the assessment of lands in the parish and
the rules and customs to guide the parishioners.
He was then said to have come into the parish six
years previously. (fn. 23) The prior and monks of Worcester acquired several pieces of land and rents in the
parish during the 13th century. John de la Pulle
sold to the prior and monks 'Lutle forlonge with a
messuage above Holeweie,' for which he paid yearly
4d. (fn. 24) The deed of sale is undated, but it was probably
before 1240, as the register of the priory of that date
records the fact that Brother Ralph had bought one
messuage from John de la Pulle. (fn. 25) Hugh the son of
Siward, with the consent of Cecily his wife, released
to the prior all his lands in Broadwas, in return for
which the prior gave him 30 marks of silver. (fn. 26) The
prior also acquired land of Adam de Ancredham.
Plan of Broadwas Church
Richard Habington, grandfather of Thomas Habington, the Worcestershire historian, owned property
in Broadwas about which there were Chancery proceedings in the middle of the 16th century. (fn. 27) Nash,
writing at the end of the 18th century, deplored
the state of the farms at Broadwas in spite of the
good quality of the soil, 'but the estates,' he says,
'are held by lives under the church, and the fields
belonging to the several farms very much dispersed, they are not so much improved as they
might be.' (fn. 28)
There were two mills in the manor of Hallow
with Broadwas in 1086, (fn. 29) and in 1240 the Prior of
Worcester had two mills at Broadwas, one being a
corn-mill and the other a fulling-mill. (fn. 30)
Whenever the tenants of the manors of Grimley,
Hallow and Henwick were prevented from grinding
corn at their own mills they were obliged to do it
at Broadwas. If the corn was carried elsewhere
the villein who carried it was liable to the forfeiture
of his horse to the prior and of the meal to the
steward of the manor. In the use of the mili for
grinding corn the prior had the precedence, next to
him the parson and the heirs of one Alan; after
them the lord of Suckley, the dam of the mill
extending to his land. Malt
ground at the mill and
brewed for private use paid
no toll; but if the beer
was sold (whether it was
by the parson, a freeman,
or any other person permitted to use the mill) a
toll was then payable of
1d. or 4 gallons of beer,
double toll being due from
a villein. Whenever a
millstone was fetched from
Worcester, all the freemen
and villeins (the parson
excepted) were bound to
attend the steward's summons, and help in turn
with men and oxen, the
cart, attended by one man,
with two oxen to draw it,
being furnished by the prior. (fn. 31) There was a mill
existing in the parish in 1776. (fn. 32)
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY MAGDALENE consists of a chancel 25 ft.
by 18½ ft., a nave 70½ ft. by 20½ ft.
wide (the western end being occupied by the framing
of a square wooden tower), and a south chapel
26 ft. by 13 ft. These measurements are all internal.
The earliest church of which traces now remain
dates from c. 1170 and was an aisleless building with
a chancel and nave extending as far west as the present
tower. Of this church part of the north and south
nave walls with the south door remain, and the
chancel is of the same date, though much repaired
and refaced. The western part of the nave inclosing
the tower is probably of the 13th century. The
south chapel was added in the first half of the 14th
century. The deed for the foundation in 1344 is
quoted by Prattinton, (fn. 33) and refers to the newly-erected
chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Mary Magdalene's Church at Broadwas. A porch to the south
door was built at the same time as the chapel, but a
line of corbelling is all that is now left. The chancel
arch was probably removed in the 16th century, and
the north nave wall, having been thrust out of the
perpendicular, was partially rebuilt with the easternmost window at the same time. The walling inclosing the base of the present tower is of doubtful date,
but the three lancet lights in the present west wall
probably belong to the 13th century. The present
woodwork of the tower is modern, but the wood gable
and some balusters with part of the west gallery are
of 16th and 17th-century date. The existing south
porch is modern.
Broadwas Church from the South-east
The modern east window of the chancel is of four
lights in 14th-century style. On either side of the
altar is some 17th-century panelling. In the north
wall are two late 12th-century lights with round
rear arches and stepped sills. One similar window
occupies the south side with a two-light window with
modern tracery to the west of it. The jambs are
probably of the 15th century. In the same wall
is a trefoiled piscina, probably contemporary with the
chancel, and to the west of it a small projection,
perhaps a portion of a destroyed sedile.
The easternmost window in the north nave wall is
a 16th-century two-light window with a square head,
the second is an original lancet with a round rear
arch. The north door has chamfered jambs and a
round head; the jambs are splayed and appear to
have been widened. West of this door is another
lancet window, and at the point where the wood
framework of the tower begins is a third which has
perhaps been rebuilt.
The tower framework occupies the west end of the
church, leaving a vestry in the middle and a small
gallery above. In the west wall are three small
lancets of 13th-century date.
The south chapel opens into the chancel by an
arcade of two bays, with a pier of four engaged shafts
with moulded capitals and bases. In the east wall
are two trefoil-headed windows, the labels being cut
away on the wall above the altar. Immediately above
is a circular traceried window and below a narrow
course where the altar slab tailed into the wall. In
the south wall are two traceried two-light windows,
and on the west is a fireplace of uncertain date,
though later than the original chapel wall. The
pointed south door is of three moulded orders with
early foliated capitals and two shafts on each side. It
is set in a gabled projection covered by a modern
wood porch. To the west of the south doorway is a
two-light 15th-century window, and there is an
original lancet immediately to the east of the commencement of the tower frame-work.
The font, of uncertain date, has a plain octagonal
bowl and a round stem with scallops at the top.
In the north-east corner of the nave is an octagonal
wood pulpit, the two panels to each face having good
17th-century carving. Above the panels is inscribed
'Anno Dom 1632, William Noxon, Roger Prince,
Church Warden.' On the tester above the pulpit
is 'Blessed are they that heare the word of God and
keepe it.'
On the floor of the chancel are sets of 16th-century
tiles in patterns of fours and sixes, with Deo gratias,
the arms of Berkeley, and other devices. One set of
four are border tiles. On another set is inscribed
'Adjuva nos deus salutaris noster et propter gloriam
nominis tui delibera nos,' with the shields of Berkeley,
John Nailheart and Robert Eliot.
At the north-west end of the nave are some 17th-century pews, one bearing the letters c c on a shield
and probably referring to the Cratford family, to whom
there is an early 17th-century tomb slab. There are
remains of other tomb slabs at the west end, including
one dated 1610.
The external roofs of nave and chancel are continuous, of a steep pitch and tiled; the south chapel
has also a steep gable roof of remarkable height. The
bell tower is weather-boarded. The buttresses of the
chapel have gabled weatherings with tracery on the
face.
Before 1896 there were four bells, three by John
Rudhall and the old bell described below. In that
year one of the Rudhall bells was recast and a treble
added. Thus at present the bells are five in number:
the first and third cast in 1822 and 1820 respectively
by John Rudhall, the second and fourth by Charles
Carr of Smethwick, 1896, and the ancient tenor,
inscribed '✠ IOHANNIS: PRECE: DVLCE: SONET: ET:
AMENE,' which was cast at Gloucester about 1350,
probably by 'Master John of Gloucester.' (fn. 34)
The plate consists of a cover paten of 1571, a
plated cup, paten and flagon and a pewter flagon.
The registers (fn. 35) before 1812 are as follows: (i)
mixed entries 1676 to 1755; (ii) baptisms and burials
1755 to 1812; (iii) marriages 1754 to 1811.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the church of
Broadwas belonged to the Prior and
convent of Worcester until the dissolution of the monasteries. (fn. 36) Henry VIII granted it,
with the manor, in 1542 to the Dean and Chapter
of Worcester. (fn. 37) This was confirmed by James I, (fn. 38) and
the dean and chapter hold the patronage at the
present day.
The church of Broadwas was free, 'by authority of
St. Wulfstan,' from all jurisdiction of the archdeacon
and rural dean, the parson being archdeacon of his
parish and receiving all the emoluments of the archdeaconry (fn. 39) and one-fifth of the Whitsun farthings
from the parish. He also received a part of the great
tithes, all the small tithes, mortuaries and the Paschal
eggs, the latter being collected by the steward of the
prior. Broadwas was returned in the archdeaconry of
Worcester in the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535, but
made no payments to the archdeacon. (fn. 40)
In 1628 there was a dispute between two ministers,
Richard Potter and Thomas Archbold, both desiring
to be presented to the rectory of Broadwas. The
latter appealed to the king, who wrote to the dean
telling him to signify to the bishop the king's pleasure
for Archbold's institution. (fn. 41) The parish contributed
one 'cronnum,' or half quarter of grain, to St. Wulfstan's alms, which were distributed to the poor from
the gate of the priory on St. Wulfstan's Day, and 18d.
to St. Peter's pence. (fn. 42)
In 1450 Bishop Carpenter granted an indulgence
to any who should give or assign any property to the
fabric, lights, bells, &c., in the parish church of
Broadwas. (fn. 43)
In 1340 licence was granted to John de Broadwas,
clerk, to give 120 acres in Cotheridge for the
maintenance of a chaplain to celebrate divine service
daily in the church of St. Mary Magdalene, Broadwas,
for the good estate of the king, Queen Philippa,
William de Kyldesby, Master John de Broadwas,
Peter de Grete, Margery Drew of Housele and
John and William her sons, while living, and for
their souls when dead. (fn. 44) Three years later John de
Broadwas gave further portions of land with a messuage in Broadwas to two chaplains for the same
purpose. (fn. 45) John reserved to himself the right of
presentation, and it was arranged that after his death
the Prior of Worcester should present, and if he did
not appoint for two months the right should afterwards be in the bishop's hands. The priests were to
find wax, &c., and on All Souls' Day 5s. (or bread or
corn to that amount) to be distributed to the poor
inhabitants of the parish. Having given to the first
two priests, on their appointment to the chantry, 10
marks with all the growing crops and produce of the
lands, John de Broadwas required that each priest, on
giving up the chantry, should leave for his successor
'8 proper oxen, a wain, a cart, a plough and a harrow,
and various household requisites, the best of which he
should have on leaving the chantry besides a half of
all his other goods.' He also required the two
chaplains to reside and spend the profits of the lands
in their manse at Broadwas, recite their benefactions
and take an oath to observe all the conditions. (fn. 46)
John de Broadwas made the first presentation (fn. 47) in
1344, but five years later the advowson had passed
into the hands of the Prior of Worcester, (fn. 48) who continued to appoint until 1457, (fn. 49) after which time
there is no record of the chantry.
CHARITIES
In 1775 the Rev. Henry Roberts,
by his will, left £2 yearly to the
poor at Christmas. The legacy is
represented by £66 13s. 4d. consols with the official
trustees, producing £1 13s. 4d. yearly, which is
distributed in money doles to about twenty-eight
recipients.
In 1797 Sarah Roberts, by her will, gave £5
yearly to the poor, to be distributed on New Year's
Day. The legacy is represented by £166 13s. 4d.
consols with the official trustees, producing £4 3s. 4d.
yearly, which is distributed in money doles to about
thirty-two recipients.
In 1892 John Francis Greswolde-Williams, by his
will proved at Worcester 12 August, bequeathed
£1,000 for the benefit of the poor. The legacy was
invested in £1,030 18s. 7d. consols with the official
trustees, and the annual dividend, amounting to
£25 15s. 4d., was in 1908–9 distributed as to
£11 10s. in cash to thirteen recipients, £5 7s. 6d. in
orders on tradesmen and £8 17s. 10d. to coal and
clothing clubs.
The same testator bequeathed £1,000 for the
benefit of the Church of England school. This
legacy was invested in £1,030 18s. 7d. consols with
the official trustees, producing £25 15s. 4d. yearly.