Bromley, King's (All Saints)

BROMLEY, KING'S (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Lichfield, N. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 5 miles (N. by E.) from Lichfield; containing 718 inhabitants. The manor was anciently called Brom Legge, and derived its present name from having been the property of the crown for nearly two centuries after the Norman Conquest, previously to which time it had been distinguished as the residence of the earls of Mercia. Leofric, the husband of the famous Lady Godiva, died here in 1057; and she was herself buried here. The road from Lichfield to Ashbourn in Derbyshire runs through the parish, and the river Trent passes by the village, about a mile from which is a wharf communicating with the Grand Trunk canal. The parish comprises 3463a. 3r. 16p., of which upwards of 1700 acres are arable, 1300 pasture and meadow, and nearly 200 in plantations. Bromley Hall is a handsome mansion surrounded by an extensive park. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Prebendary of Alrewas and Weeford in the Cathedral of Lichfield; net income, £72. The great tithes have been commuted for £320, and the small for £105; the glebe consists of 10 acres. The church is partly in the early English style, and is adorned with large and beautiful windows; it contains monuments to the families of Agard, Newton, and Lane. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A school was founded in 1699, by the Rev. Richard Crosse, who endowed it with property now producing £110 per annum; almshouses for 7 widows were also founded, and partly endowed, by him.