When
Miss Edna Pearson died in 1985, she had nearly completed her
researches into St Peter's Church, Bromyard. Her manuscript has now
been edited and published together with her earlier studies, Bromyard
Church Registers and Stanford Bishop Church.
Bromyard
was on of the bishop of Hereford's manors before Domesday and the
influence of the Church has been crucial to the growth of the town. It
was a 13th century bishop who developed Bromyard as a financial
enterprise.
Unlike
some church histories, the architecture has not been over emphasized:
amongst other subjects Miss Pearson included sections on medieval
worship, the right of sanctuary, the plague, local benefactors, bells
and musicians, Monday sermons, not forgetting the furore created by
the introduction of surplices for the choir. Anyone interested in the
role of the Church in their own community will find this an enjoyable
and enlightening read.
