The Parish Church of St Mary with St Leonard, Broomfield

For the past fortnight, since my last post on the subject, I've been walking to work most days, and feeling the benefit. It's somewhat more exercise than I've been doing recently, so it's a little tiring at the end of the day, and I get a bit footsore sometimes. I could use my bike on some of those occasions when I've driven, except that some time ago I noticed that one of the tyres was almost worn through, and I haven't got round to sorting it

The last two days have been unseasonably warm, bright and sunny, and the fine weather encouraged me to linger on the way back. I stopped by the Church of St Mary with St Leonard, and had a stroll around the grounds. This is the parish church of Broomfield, the village my workplace is located. The oldest parts of the church date from the 11th century (older than Chelmsford Cathedral), although there have been many additions over the years.

The round tower is one of the oldest parts of the church and is Norman, from the 12th century. Many of the bricks in the tower and the older parts of the church are re-used Roman bricks.

The additions from different periods, with different building materials, are clearly visible and add to the charm.

There is a lovely churchyard with interesting gravestones like the one shown here.

The church itself was closed, so a visit to the interior will have to wait, but I found this plan, along with a detailed description at British History Online.

St Mary with St Leonard, Church Green, Broomfield, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 7BE