Bramham in Church Hands (cont)
The church has not been without its natural disasters. Twice it has been struck by lightning since records began, the first time on
Saturday 30 June 1827 when the parish register reports:
"The electric fluid struck the church steeple and tore away several of the stones, entered the belfry and broke the bell stays,
tearing away the woodwork with much violence."
The second time was in 1902 when the tower and spire were damaged, calling for a considerable amount of repair and renewal.
On Christmas Day 1874, a heating stove caused a fire, by which the Tower was severely damaged and the single dial clock and the peal of
three old bells perished. Renewals included the four belfry windows, a new peal of six bells, sadly now rarely heard, and the present
three-dial clock.
This latter was built in 1876 by Potts of Leeds, who have maintained it continuously to this day.
The Churchyard, probably now being used for at least the third time, is of notable size and oval shape, crossed by a public footpath.
The impressive lych gate dates from 1902, and was given by the Rt Hon John Wharton in memory of his wife. John Wharton, resident of
Bramham Old Hall and long-serving church warden, was MP for Ripon.
The large crucifix was a memorial to Lord and Lady Bingley of
Bramham Park, dedicated by Dr Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, in May 1965.
Over the centuries natural, often unplanned, growth has filled the churchyard with interesting flora. Many wild flowers are protected
thus, and the ancient yew trees or their forebears were used for making the famous English longbow. Notably the cherry trees which stand
on small mounds towards the eastern end mark the sites of mass graves from the Wars of the Roses and Civil War battles.
Major renovation
of the churchyard in the early to mid-1990's, carried out by volunteers led by villagers Alan Booth and Jim Cook, aims to protect these
and other notable features whilst making future maintenance easier.
The church records are full of interesting information about the churchyard, and therefore about aspects of life in the village.
Many entries certify that people had to be buried in wool shrouds according to an Act of 1678, passed to help the wool trade.
In May 1684
the freeholders of Bramham agreed that the burying fee with a coffin was two shillings, from which the Vicar could take six pence. Burial of a
corpse without a coffin was eighteen pence, with the Vicar's share one shilling.
The Vicar was obliged to christen and bury all the poor of
Bramham free of charge. There was available a parish coffin, used for carrying the corpses only as far as the graveside.
It is interesting to note the diseases from which Bramhamers died in former times. Many children, for example, died of measles.
In the June-November period of 1778 seven villagers died of smallpox, one child of teething problems, and deaths were recorded from
a putrid sore throat, putrid fever and dropsy. Many people were recorded as having died of 'a decline'. Again, in October-November
1781, seven died of smallpox.
Throughout the Middle Ages, and even into Victorian times, various types of plague visited the village. No records exist of what
happened in Bramham during the Black Death of 1348-9, when, in two years, nearly a half of England's population was wiped out. Bramham's
position on main roads north and east/west must, however, have made the villagers especially vulnerable to disease brought by travellers,
particularly those fleeing from main population centres where plague took a firm hold.
For example, during the 1660's Great Plague in Charles
II's time, huge numbers fled London up the Great North Road, some settling in Bramham.
As late as 1826, a particularly hot and dry summer, when no rain fell for four months until September, the records state:
"This summer Bramham was sorely visited by sickness. Nearly thirty persons died of cholera and
upwards of three-hundred persons were more or less afflicted."
- an interesting reflexion of the size of the village, as well as its health. |
