Kempley St Mary, Gloucestershire

Burgums and Burghams of the "KK" family tree lived here, or nearby.

KEMPLEY ST MARY has the oldest roof of any building in Britain, dating from 1120-1150. It also has an unusually well-preserved interior. In its chancel are the most complete set of Romanesque frescos anywhere in northern Europe. One of the frescos, painted in about 1120, is the Christ in Majesty . Further images on the walls of the nave, include a wheel of life, showing the life cycle of man. These were worked in fast drying tempera paint, with pigments and a binder (perhaps egg yolk) over the dry lime mortar. St Mary's Church is owned by English Heritage and maintained by The Friends of Kempley Churches. In the early months of the year wild daffodils cover much of the churchyard, usually from late February to early March.

Kempley has two churches. The Church of St Edward the Confessor was built in 1903 and is extremely unusual. It was built in Forest of Dean red sandstone for the Lord of the Manor and major landowner, William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, because St Mary's was iable to flooding and was considered too far away from the main centres of population in the parish at Kempley Green and Fishpool. It became the parish church in 1975.

The list below shows the baptisms, marriages and burials that took place at Kempley.

Name	Date	Location	BMD	Minister	Notes	FT
John Bergum	18 Oct 1747	Kempley	Baptism		P=William + Ann	KK
William Bergum	12 Mar 1748	Kempley	Baptism		P=William + Ann	KK
Mary Bergum	16 Jun 1751	Kempley	Baptism		P=William + Ann	KK
Sarah Bergum	18 Mar 1753	Kempley	Baptism	Peter Sonhouse	P=William + Ann	KK
Richard Bergum	16 Oct 1755	Kempley	Baptism		P=William + Ann	KK
Ann Bergum	08 Nov 1761	Kempley	Baptism		P=William + Ann	KK
John Bergum	13 Aug 1769	Kempley	Marriage	John Jenkins	m=Ann Bayliss	KK
Sarah Bergum	13 Feb 1770	Kempley	Baptism		P=John + Ann	KK
Elizabeth Bergum	21 Dec 1771	Kempley	Baptism		P=John + Ann	KK
Mary Bergum	23 Jun 1776	Kempley	Baptism		P=John + Ann	KK
Hester Bergum	28 Mar 1779	Kempley	Baptism		P=John + Ann	KK
Mary Bergum	24 Jun 1779	Kempley	Burial		a child	KK
Hannah Bergum	05 May 1782	Kempley	Baptism		mother=Ann, illegitimate	KK
Mary Bergum	30 Jun 1782	Kempley	Baptism		P=William + Mary	KK
Richard Bergum	14 Jul 1782	Kempley	Baptism		P=John + Ann	KK
Ann Bergum	17 Apr 1785	Kempley	Baptism	J. Bourne	P=John + Ann	KK
Sarah Bergum	04 May 1795	Kempley	Marriage	John Jenkins	m=James Brooke	KK
Elizabeth Bergum	01 May 1797	Kempley	Marriage	David Boyd	m=Philip Morgan	KK
Esther Burgum	04 Oct 1801	Kempley	Marriage	Robert Squire (1)	m=John Peckthorn	KK
Richard Burgham	03 May 1811	Kempley	Marriage	R. Houghton	m=Elizabeth Gabb	KK
Mary Burgham	15 Dec 1811	Kempley	Baptism		P=Richard + Elizabeth	KK
John Burgham	13 Aug 1812	Kempley	Burial			KK
Esther Burgham	12 Jun 1814	Kempley Green	Baptism	T. Waldron	P=Richard + Elizabeth	KK
Richard Burgum	16 Sep 1816	Kempley Green	Baptism	J.E. de Visme (2)	P=Richard + Elizabeth	KK
Elizabeth Burgham	08 Nov 1818	Kempley Green	Baptism	Richard Brooke (3)	P=Richard + Elizabeth	KK
James Burgham	30 Sep 1821	Kempley Green	Baptism	Richard Brooke (3)	P=Richard + Elizabeth	KK
John Burgham	01 Aug 1824	Kempley Green	Baptism	Richard Brooke (3)	P=Richard + Elizabeth	KK

(1) Robert Squire was educated at Queens College, Oxford and was ordained as a priet in 1781. He became vicar at Kempley from 17th November 1787 until his death on 24th November 1821.

(2) James Edward De Visme was educated at Caius College, Cambridge as a deacon in 1814 and a priest in 1815. He became curate of St Mary, Kempley in October 1814. He later became stipendiary curate at Stanton Drew, Somerset.

(3) Richard Brooke became curate of Birtsmorton in 1814, before becoming stipendiary curate at Kempley.

Click here for the KK family tree

Click here for more about Kempley and some of the Burgums and Burghams who lived there.