St Mary and St Margaret's Church, Castle Bromwich

A small wooden Norman chapel was known on the site before 1175, probably built for one of the de Bromwich family. The chapel was remade of stone in the 12th century, possibly earlier. In the 15th century the Norman chapel had a large half-timbered structure and wooden tower added to the west end, probably by a member of the Devereux family. The present church was extensively altered between 1726 and 1731 by Sir John Bridgeman II to give an English Renaissance, neo-classical, style. The new brick tower was built first in 1725, a little way away from the existing main church. The Hall and Church were then rebuilt using bricks made of local Castle Bromwich clay, fired close by. It is thought…

The church is a Grade I listed building. The brick tower has a clock face and contains a peal of six bells. Weathervanes stood on top of the stone urns at the four corners of the tower before 1947. These were replaced after the bells were recast in 1952 by four of the old bell clappers. Inside, the church has two side chapels (one is called the Lady Chapel) and traditional wooden pews. The box pews at the front were originally reserved for the Bridgeman family. There is a stone tablet with an epitaph to Sir John Bridgeman of 1752 and a window dedicated to the memory of the Countess of Bradford who died in 1842. There is a rare three-tiered pulpit with a sounding board above. It has a high…