St Owen

It is approached through the park from the main village road. In earlier times it is understood there were dwellings nearer the church but historic events, such as the Black Death, meant that the village grew outside the estate boundaries.

The stone building dates from the 13th century, although there is evidence of earlier building on the site and a Saxon consecration cross was found on the site. The main architecture is of the 14th and 15th century with major work on the chancel done in Victorian times under William Butterfield. The plain glass nave windows all face south and the chancel windows, all stained glass, face south and east. On the north side there is one large Victorian window in the Dynevor chapel and then a nearly blank wall as far as the north porch (3 small windows light the inside of the organ chamber).

It is thus a building very much orientated towards the south across Bromham Park. According to wills of the 15th century the church was originally dedicated to St Andrew but at an unknown date it became St Owen and has remained so ever since. St Owen, 610-684, was Bishop of Rouen.

The earliest part of the present building is the north wall in the north aisle. This is a stone and rubble wall and there are traces of earlier windows and a door clearly visible on the inside and out. At the east end of the north aisle there is an alabaster tomb with the recumbent effigy of Sir Lewis Dyve of Bromham Hall who died in 1603. He was grandfather of the later Sir Lewis Dyve of Royalist fame.

The nave is 14th century and the tower 15th century. At the west end of the nave is the 15th century font made of 'clunch' stone. The Victorian pews were removed in 2009 and replaced by upholstered chairs.

The chancel was originally 14th century but it was rebuilt in 1868 under William Butterfield at the expense of the Hon Elinore Rice Trevor. At the same time the Dynevor Chapel and vestry were built on the instruction of her father the 4th Lord Dynevor. At this time the three decker pulpit given by Frances Dynevor in 1685 was removed along with the old boxed pews. The rood screen was removed and the chancel arch was enlarged. When the old pulpit was removed a Saxon consecration cross was found (which shows there was probably an altar there in earlier times) and this is now displayed above the north door. In the chancel there is a splendid brass which was made in 1435. It shows an armoured knight with an SS collar between two ladies in dresses of the period. This was originally made to represent Thomas Wideville and his two wives. Exactly 100 years later it was appropriated by his great great nephew Sir John Dyve; the name plate was reversed and reinscribed saying that it was in memory of himself, John Dyve, and his wife and mother.

Both north and south porches have an upper room reached by an outer staircase. The one over the north porch was probably a lodging for visiting priests in earlier centuries, but the one over the south porch used to house a library of books given in 1740 by the then Lord Trevor. Following an attempted break in in the 1980s the books were removed, first to the County Archive, and more recently to Canons Ashby near Northampton. There they are on permanent loan in the care of the National Trust and can be viewed at the house.