Broxtowe
Old Church

History

There is no mention of a church at Broxtowe in Domesday and the earliest evidence of the church is a grant of land by Gilbert, son of Eustace de Broculstowe, in the early-eleventh century who gave to the Cluniac monks of Lenton Priory a toft (a plot of land on which a house had been built) located on the east part of Broxtowe church.

A list of rectors contained in the Torre Manuscript runs from 1287 to 1468, with the earliest institution being Robert de Stapilford who was presented to the church by Sempringham Priory, Lincolnshire. From this and subsequent institutions it is evident that the house of Gilbertine canons at Sempringham exercised patronage over the church.

In 1291, for the purposes of ecclesiastical taxation during the pontificate of Nicholas IV, the church of Broxtowe was not assessed although a pension of 2s. to Sempingham Priory was recorded. In 1341, the inquisitions nonarum noted that the church was not taxed because sheaves, wool and lambs were valued at only 24s. yearly. In 1428, for the purposes of taxation under Henry VI, the church was recorded as ‘in decimabilis preter pensionem prioris de Sempryngham’ (‘not liable to tithes besides the pension to the priory of Sempringham’).

Further evidence of the early history of the church at Broxtowe is sparse, although the church of Broxtowe is mentioned in a court case from 1385 when a smith of Lenton sued his trade partner. The plaint recorded that the partner owed 2s. for the making of a key for the door of the church of Broxtowe.

The will of John Broxtowe, probably drawn up in 1439, contains the instruction that once various properties were sold 20 marks should be given 'for [John's] soul and the residue be devoted to Broxtowe church and for the making of a steeple.' There is no documentary evidence that the steeple was built.

In 1428 an inquisition recorded that the parish of Broxtowe contained fewer than ten inhabitants who were householders. On 26 April 1458 Broxtow church was united to Bilborough by decree of the archbishop of York, William Bothe, at the petition of Robert Strelley. The reason given was that due to the depopulation of Broxtowe, 'the church provided no living for an incumbent, and was not served.'

The 1449-50 lay subsidy and reduction for poverty records that 6s 2d was deducted from the tax for which Broxtowe was liable. This amounts to a substantial 71% reduction, an indication of the settlement's poverty at this time.

In the Valor Ecclesiasticus (1535) the rectory of Bilborough was assessed with Broxtowe, although a later source provides evidence that the church building continued to exist in the late-sixteenth century. The earliest register book for Bilborough contains a terrier (land survey) dating to 1595 where the ‘chappell and the chappellyearde’ are recorded alongside land pertaining to the chapel, which included an acre of woodland lying next to ‘Sheep Close’. The record also mentions all tithes and other church duties, suggesting that at this date the revenues of the chapel were kept administratively distinct from those of Bilborough church.

It is suggested by Stapleton (1911) that the building itself may have ceased to function as a church even before the Reformation and, in a similar way to other chapels following unification with another parish, it may have been converted to secular purposes, perhaps serving as a barn. He also suggests that the chapel may have been demolished along with the old hall during the reign of Charles I, the chapel being situated just north of the hall wall.