Pictures of Brampton

About Brampton

Picturesque market town with origins stretching back to the 7th century. One of the loveliest features of Brampton is its octagonal Moot Hall, built by the Earl of Lancaster in 1817, this now houses the town's tourist information centre, but does not detract from the overall historic nature of the building which continues to be the main focus of attention in Brampton's pretty market-place. King Henry III granted the town its first market charter, a market was first held here in 1252. In 1606, James I granted a charter, a copy of this is displayed in the Moot Hall.

Much of the charm of Brampton centres upon its quantity of ancient properties, some lining cobbled streets. It has buildings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, thus covering a variety of architectural designs with the properties being mainly built of local red sandstone, giving a unifying feel to the town. Of great interest is the house where Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed, this dates from 1603, it is now a shop but a plaque on the wall records that this was where he received the keys to Carlisle upon its surrender. Other noted buildings include The Scotch Arms, a former coaching inn from the 18th century, the old police station from the 1860's, and the White Lion Hotel which dates 1790.

During the 18th century Brampton founded its fortunes on the cotton industry and picturesque old weavers cottages can still be seen, along with homes belonging to the period when mining became important to the town's economy.

These days Brampton operates very much as a resort town, it is ideally situated for Carlisle, the Solway Firth, the Borderlands Forest Park and the Scottish lowlands. It offers everything any tourist could wish for including a beautiful parish church designed by the Pre-Raphaelite architect Philip Webb. St.Martin's Church was built of re-sandstone in 1874, it has wonderful windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones, which were made in the studio of William Morris. Outside the church lie many interesting gravestones, these include the 19th century grave of Lizzie Batey who was known as the "Brampton Witch".

Brampton is set amongst spacious countryside, the delightful River Irthing flows close-by and within easy reach is the beautiful country centre Talkin Tarn with its miles of rolling farmland and magnificent 65 acre lake.