Bromesberrow Church
Bromesberrow Church is famous for being the home of the Yate cornets.
(A cornet is the name given to the small, 60cm square cavalry flags used in the Civil Wars.)
Two Civil War cavalry cornets, one believed to be Royalist, the other Parliamentarian were given to the church by the Yate family, they had been in the possession of Rice Yate (d.1690).
Rice had been a Royalist cavalry officer - one cornet belonging to his squadron, the Parliamentarian cornet having been captured. Both cornets are believed to have been present at the Battle of Edgehill.
The white cornet is attributed to Captain-Lieutenant Rice Yate and bears the motto “religio Protestantism leges Angliae libertates parlamentorum”, which translates as “Protestant religion, laws of England, freedom of Parliament”. On first reading this would seem a strange motto for a Royalist standard, however, those are the words of Charles I from "Declaration in Defence of the True Protestant Religion".
The red cornet bears the motto “ora et pugna: iuvit et iuvabit Iehovah” which translates as “pray and fight: Jehovah helps and will help”. This cornet may possibly have belonged to Captain Nicholas Bragge.
The cornets are on display in the Yate family chapel. Sadly the chapel was locked when I visited, but they were clearly visible through the gates.
A number of historians, including the late Peter Young, question the authenticity of these flags believing that they are contemporaneous facsimiles created for showing off purposes.
Postcodes for SatNavs
Bromesberrow Church HR8 1RU
(A cornet is the name given to the small, 60cm square cavalry flags used in the Civil Wars.)
Two Civil War cavalry cornets, one believed to be Royalist, the other Parliamentarian were given to the church by the Yate family, they had been in the possession of Rice Yate (d.1690).
Rice had been a Royalist cavalry officer - one cornet belonging to his squadron, the Parliamentarian cornet having been captured. Both cornets are believed to have been present at the Battle of Edgehill.
The white cornet is attributed to Captain-Lieutenant Rice Yate and bears the motto “religio Protestantism leges Angliae libertates parlamentorum”, which translates as “Protestant religion, laws of England, freedom of Parliament”. On first reading this would seem a strange motto for a Royalist standard, however, those are the words of Charles I from "Declaration in Defence of the True Protestant Religion".
The red cornet bears the motto “ora et pugna: iuvit et iuvabit Iehovah” which translates as “pray and fight: Jehovah helps and will help”. This cornet may possibly have belonged to Captain Nicholas Bragge.
The cornets are on display in the Yate family chapel. Sadly the chapel was locked when I visited, but they were clearly visible through the gates.
The church itself is well worth a visit, if you asked a visitor to design a quintessential English church they would probably come up with something similar to Bromesberrow Church
A number of historians, including the late Peter Young, question the authenticity of these flags believing that they are contemporaneous facsimiles created for showing off purposes.
The Commandery in Worcester has excellent recreations of these two cornets on display.
Postcodes for SatNavs
Bromesberrow Church HR8 1RU
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Great looking church. Interesting to see the cornets, still displayed in the church.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that they are still in the family chapel, but a little bit of me thinks that they really should be somewhere more prominent so more people see these wonderful items.
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