Breedon on the Hill

The Cloud Trail follows the course of the former Ashby de la Zouch to Derby railway.

A handy laybay allowed me to take this photo without partly blocking the road. The view is towards Breedon on the Hill

Looking across the A453 Moor Lane to fields with what might be a winter planted cereal crop.

Looking along the A453 Moor Lane on a fairly dull morning.

Looking a little east of south along Doctor's Lane which connects Breedon on the Hill to a road called Top Brand.

The road surface and the leafless bushes at the roadside are all covered in dirt containing a lot of limestone from the quarry to the right of the road. In the short time I took to take the photo at least 5 lorries entered or left the quarry.

Top Brand seems a very unusual name for this road.

On The Village Green.

The first lighting of the beacon was for the Queen's Golden Jubilee June 2002 Full list: Queen's Golden Jubilee June 2002 200th Anniversary of the death of Nelson 2005 Queen's Diamond Jubilee June 2012 70th Anniversary of V.E Day May 2015 Queen's Platinum Jubilee June 2022

The present church, which had been preceded by a minster (an Anglo-Saxon monastery) from the 7th century, contains the largest collection, and some of the finest examples, of Anglo-Saxon sculptures. It also contains a notable family pew and Renaissance-era church monuments to the Shirley family, who bought the manor of Breedon after it was surrendered to the Crown in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The church stands on the top of Breedon Hill, within the remains of an Iron Age hill fort called The Bulwarks. The priory fell into some disrepair by the 16th century, but a local family in the form of Francis Shirley Esq of Staunton Harold Hall purchased the priory from King Henry VIII after the Reformation as a burial place for himself and his successors. The local villagers also petitioned that the building should become their parish church (as the village church was ruinous) and the rooms above the south porch could be used as a school – this was accepted. They pulled down the old buildings to the west of the tower but removed the Saxon carvings which they placed in the south porch. In 1784 the church was again in a bad state of repair, there were plans to spend £3,340 on the rebuild but this sum was never reached, however the church was repaired and this is what we can see today. Some further restoration took place in the 19th and 20th centuries, and in 1937 the Saxon carvings were moved from the south porch and placed in the main part of the church. The present church consists of a west tower, south porch (with vestry over), nave, north aisle (Shirley aisle), south aisle with Lady Chapel and a Sanctuary.

The church contains a series of very important Saxon relief sculptures, some of which may be amongst the earliest to survive in England. They fall into four groups. The first two groups comprise some 63 feet of wall frieze, intended originally to run parallel in bands around both the inside and outside of the Saxon Minster Church. These are now built into the interior in scattered lengths. The carvings are dated to the 9th century and include Celtic patterns, lions, people, cocks and other birds that are pecking at vines. The third group is a series of figure panels set in arches and comprising mainly of saints and the unique Breedon Angel. This is not available to view without an appointment as it is situated in the bell ringing tower, but a copy can be seen on the wall of the south aisle. The Angel is one of the finest surviving examples of Saxon figure sculpting and perhaps the earliest carved angel in England. The final group is a small collection of freestanding decorated cross fragments. These date back to the 9th-10th century when the place of worship was re-established again. Pictured is a collection of individual human figure sculpture set in architectural decorative frames. The largest behind the altar is a half figure holding a book in the left hand and giving a Byzantine blessing with the other. This helps to date the sculptures to the circa 8th-9th century. The figure's hair is covered, which lends itself to the suggestion of being female. The drilled hole staring eyes and stiff formal robes are typical of the formal figurework found in illuminated manuscripts of the period. Flanking the central figure are two sets of three saints in their arcades with a further two immediately to the right on the south wall. Their haloed heads have the same drilled eyes and stiff drapery. They carry books, scrolls that probably once bore their unknown names and another, doll-like small figure at waist level. Link

What would have been a central tower; you can still see the bricked up Norman arch (and roof scar) that would have led to the now demolished nave. Whilst occupation on the hill dates back from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age (c800 – 450BC) and the site was defended by a substantial wooden palisade probably constructed during the 2nd or 3rd century BC. There has been a monastery on the hill since 675AD and whilst we will never know what the site at Breedon was called, the name we know it by is of interest in its own right. Being derived from the Celtic word ‘bre’ for hill, and the old English ‘dun’ also meaning hill, the name essentially translates as ‘Hill-Hill on the Hill’. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Breedon, together with Wilson and Tonge, was granted to Robert de Ferrers by William the Conqueror. Subsequently, some time between 1109 and 1122, Robert gave the Parish Church to the Augustinian Priory of Nostell in Yorkshire. The endowment also included Breedon Market which was situated on the hilltop, although now quarried away. This period saw the church expanded by the canons to include cloisters and other domestic quarters. These former buildings begin to explain the various roof pitch marks on three sides of the present tower. In 1223, Nostell introduced Prior Gervase to Breedon, who tried to make the priory independent. During the next 50 years, the church was remodelled with lancet windows extending to a more decorative style and vaulted aisles added. Skipping ahead to 1441, Bishop Alnwick visited to find the priory in debt and the buildings dilapidated. He suspended one of the canons with another one finding himself in jail a few years later and awaiting trial at Leicester. By 1518, Breedon Parish Church once again had become run down but this time responsibility probably rested with the parishioners, not the canons of the priory. By 1539, the priory was surrendered by Nostell and the parishioners found themselves with a dilapidated Parish Church and a deserted Priory Church. Perhaps in answer to a prayer, a local in the form of Francis Shirley of Staunton Harold stepped in and purchased the Priory Church from King Henry VIII after the monastic suppression. This was to be a burial place for himself and his successors and with this, parishioners petitioned for it also to serve as the Parish Church, all of which was granted. Francis Shirley took the present North Aisle for his family mortuary. Link

The largest monument dominating the inside of the church is that dedicated to Sir George Shirley. It was made over 20 years before Shirley died in 1622. It is dated 1598 and consists of three storeys. On the bottom storey is a realistic skeleton carved from alabaster and showing the mortality of those portrayed above. The inclusion of this cadaver in the design was unusual for the time. The second storey is supported on six pillars and the space is divided into two arched spaces. To the right, and facing right in prayer, is Sir George Shirley with his two sons behind him. All three figures are dressed in brightly painted period dress and the clothes include details in gold. In the left arch is his wife (d. 1595), daughter, and two babies. According to the Latin inscription, Shirley’s wife died aged 29 whilst giving birth. The third storey, again supported by six more pillars, is a canopy made in stone and incorporating a large, central carved coat of arms. The monument was constructed from large blocks of alabaster. It was rebuilt in the 19th century by the stonemason, Thomas Allt, who added his signature to the work. Link

This picture was taken from near Worthington.

A footpath from the village of Worthington meets the Cloud Trail at the signpost.