history of brampton...
In AD 122, Emperor Hadrian embarked on an ambitious project to build a wall from one side of the country to the other. Its aim was to keep out the northern tribes and to demarcate the northern frontier of the vast Roman Empire, and it became known as Hadrian's Wall. The Wall took six years to complete, with forts established at strategic locations and milecastles (small defensive gateways) placed every Roman mile (1.48 km) along the Wall.
Between every milecastle were two turrets that secured the visual sightline.The Wall extended from Bowness-on-Solway in the west to Wallsend in the east, with fortifications continuing down the Cumbrian coast to Ravenglass. Some of the best- preserved sections are at Birdoswald and in Gilsland. Running parallel to the Wall is the Stanegate, an older Roman supply road lined with forts, which linked Carlisle with Corbridge.
The Normans established control by installing barons who administered law and order from a central seat of power - usually a motte and bailey-type of stronghold. Mottes exist at Irthington and Hayton, but the most impressive ‘mote' is at Brampton, which towers over the town below. The Normans also rebuilt the Saxon churches at Irthington, Brampton Old Church, Nether Denton and Upper Denton using stone from Hadrian's Wall.
Lanercost Priory was founded in 1169 by Robert de Vaux, baron of Gilsland, who endowed land in the Irthing Valley to be settled by Augustinian canons. The chosen site had a ready supply of building stone (from Hadrian's Wall), but fell within the ‘debatable lands'. As a result, the priory bore the brunt of several Scottish raids, particularly after it had accommodated Edward I during his 1306-07 campaign to quell the Scots. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, the priory was abandoned and its buildings given to the Dacre family.
The Dacres, as Lords of Gilsland, made Naworth Castle their baronial seat in 1335. In 1577 the castle passed by marriage to Lord William Howard (Belted Will), and has remained in the Howard family ever since.
The original settlement of Brampton is thought to have been near the old church, but was cleared with the creation of a deer park. A new town was established a short distance away and granted a market charter in 1250. In the centre lies the Moot Hall where matters relating to the barony of Gilsland were discussed. Today's octagonal building of 1817 replaced an earlier square structure. At the base are the iron stocks and a bull-tethering ring - a reminder of the days when bulls were baited prior to slaughter.
Brampton, along with other areas within the disputed border, was frequently targeted by reivers - organised family gangs on both sides of the Border who would steal, burn, kill and use extortion as a means of survival. During this period many fortified pele towers (Newby East, Askerton Castle) were built and Wardens of the Marches were appointed to keep the peace. In the ‘Western March', this responsibility lay with the Lords Dacre of Naworth Castle who held the title for almost 300 years until the union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603 spelled the end of reiving as a way of life.
During the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) laid claim to the English throne and amassed an army of Jacobites to march on London. During his siege of Carlisle, Charles ‘rested' in Brampton. Following his victory in Carlisle he moved south, but encountered the Duke of Cumberland's army advancing north, and the Jacobites were forced to retreat. Carlisle was quickly re-taken and many Jacobites were taken prisoner and sent to the gallows. In Brampton six of the rebels were hung from the ‘capon' tree on Capon Tree Road. The tree is no longer there, but a monument marks the spot and records their names.
The discovery of coal at Tindale in the 17th century created a thriving mining community on the flanks of the Pennines. When plans were being drawn up for the Carlisle to Newcastle railway in 1827, the Howards (owners of the Naworth Collieries) insisted that the route should intersect with their branch colliery line, so that ‘coals could be taken to Newcastle' and elsewhere. Thus Brampton Station was located about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the town. A horse-drawn ‘dandy' line connected the station to the town and operated until 1881 (the line is still visible along the eastern edge of Rowbank Wood).
The medicinal properties of the sulphuric springs at Gilsland have been known since Roman times, but it was not until the arrival of the Carlisle to Newcastle railway in 1837 that the town became a fashionable Victorian spa for ‘taking the waters'.
