Bromfield is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England. According to the 2001

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

it had a population of 306, which had fallen to 277 at the 2011 census.

Location

Bromfield is located near the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

, two miles (3 km) northwest of the town centre, on the

A49 road The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrin ...

. The A4113 road (to Knighton) has its eastern end in Bromfield, at its junction with the A49. The village is situated near the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

River Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of B ...

and

River Onny The River Onny is a river in Shropshire, England. It is a major tributary of the River Teme. Etymology The river's name derives from Welsh and means the river on which ash trees (Welsh: ''onnau'') grew. Course The river has its sources in th ...

. The latter splits the village into two, with the church and many of the older buildings to the west and the recently redeveloped business area to the east (towards Ludlow). A bridge takes the main road over the river.

History

The manor of Bromfield, and separately Bromfield Priory, are recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, then still falling within the Saxon

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

Culvestan Culvestan was a hundred of Shropshire, England. Formed during Anglo-Saxon England, it encompassed manors in central southern Shropshire, and was amalgamated during the reign of Henry I (1100 to 1135) with the neighbouring hundred of Patton to for ...

, which was abolished in the reign of

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

; Bromfield then came within

Munslow Munslow is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated on the B4368, northeast of the small town of Craven Arms, in the Corvedale, at around above sea level. The village formed part of and gave its name to the hun ...

hundred. It was a large and well-populated manor. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

at this time extended beyond the present-day boundaries, to the north (with a

detached part An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

at Halford existing into the 19th century) and the south (another detached part, near

Ashford Bowdler Ashford Bowdler is a small village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England, near the county border with Herefordshire. Geography The parish lies south of the market town of Ludlow. The Parish is bisected West to East by the A49. The villag ...

). In 1884 it expanded significantly by taking in a large part of the southern portion of

Stanton Lacy Stanton Lacy is a small village and geographically large civil parish located in south Shropshire, England, north of Ludlow. The River Corve flows through the parish, on its way south towards the River Teme, and passes immediately to the west o ...

's parish; in 1934 another significant boundary change took place, with a large part (on both sides of the

, and including a small part of the 1884 transfer from Stanton Lacy) transferred to Ludlow. Circa 1967 the borders of Ludford, Bromfield and Ludlow were re-aligned in the Whitcliffe area. 1987 saw a small area, containing the places of Wigley and Fishmore, transferred from

East Hamlet East Hamlet was a civil parish situated immediately to the east and northeast of the market town of Ludlow, Shropshire. The name, which dates much further back than the creation of the civil parish, refers to a small settlement in the eastern area ...

which was being dissolved at the time. The effect of the boundary changes caused by this dissolution was the creation of a second boundary with Ludford, with Ludlow now encircled by the two parishes of Ludford and Bromfield. Much of the parish, as well as the neighbouring parish of Stanton Lacy, is part of the

Earl of Plymouth Earl of Plymouth is a title that has been created three times: twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The first creation was in 1675 for Charles FitzCharles, one of the dozens of illegitimate ...

's Oakly Park Estate.

Oakly Park Oakly Park, Bromfield, Shropshire, England is a country house dating from the 18th century. In the early 19th century, the house was restored and extended by Charles Robert Cockerell, Surveyor to the Bank of England for his friend Robert Henry ...

is now the Plymouth family seat. Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bromfield - geograph

The village

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

is dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin and is a grade I listed building. There was, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a priory at Bromfield.

Amenities

Three-quarters of

Ludlow Racecourse Ludlow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Bromfield near Ludlow, Shropshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north ...

and the Ludlow Golf Club are located in the parish, to the northeast of the village. The Welsh Marches Line passes through the parish, between the village and the racecourse. A level crossing and manned signal box still exist, but the station once sited here closed in 1958. The village now boasts a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

(open Monday-Friday only), a hotel/restaurant/bar called "The Clive", a large local food centre ("The Ludlow Food Centre"), a smaller restaurant/cafe ("The Farmers Kitchen") and a garden/plant centre. These are all located adjacent to one another in a recently redeveloped business area by the A49 road.

Islabikes Islabikes ( ) is a manufacturer of bicycles based near Ludlow in Shropshire, England. Originally known for children's bikes, since 2019 the company has also produced bicycles aimed at the over 65s. It was founded in 2006 by competitive cyclis ...

were based in the business area but moved to nearby Ludford; they manufacture specialist bicycles, in particular for children.

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

route 44 passes through the village, on its way between

Bishop's Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of Sh ...

and Ludlow. It passes under the A49 by a subway, an unusual feature for a village in Shropshire.

People associated with Bromfield

Henry Hill Hickman Henry Hill Hickman (27 January 1800 – 2 April 1830) was an English physician and promoter of anaesthesia. Life He was born to tenant farmers at Lady Halton, (near Bromfield, just outside Ludlow, Shropshire). He was the fifth of thirteen c ...

, early promoter of

anaesthetics An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

References

External links