BRAMPTON, a parish in ESKDALE ward, county of
CUMBERLAND, comprising the market-town of Brampton,
and the townships of Easby and Naworth, and
containing 2921 inhabitants, of which number, 2448 are
in the town of Brampton, 9 miles (N. E. by E.) from
Carlisle, and 305 (N. by W.) from London. According
to Camden, this was the Roman station Bremetenracum,
which some modern writers have fixed at Old Penrith.
The town sustained extensive damage during the wars
of Edward II., of which, as well as of its earlier importance,
it still exhibits evident marks. It is situated
between the rivers Irthing and Gelt, about one
mile south of the former, and two and a half from the
point where they unite, and about one mile south of the
Picts' wall, in a deep narrow vale embosomed in hills.
It, consists of two principal streets irregularly built: the
houses, excepting a few of modern erection, are generally
of mean appearance; the inhabitants are well
supplied with water, The only branch of manufacture
is that of gingham,- in which nearly .seven hundred individuals
are employed: there are two public breweries.
The railway between Newcastle and Carlisle passes a
mile and a half to the south; and the late Earl of Carlisle
extended a railway from the collieries at Tindal Fell
to Brampton, by which coal and lime are brought
hither in abundance; in this traffic about one thousand
persons are employed. The market is on Wednesday,
and is well supplied with corn, admitted toll-free: fairs
are held annually on the 20th of April, the second
Wednesday after Whitsuntide, the second Wednesday
in September, and the 23rd of October, for horned cattle,
horses, and sheep. The county magistrates hold a
petty session every alternate Wednesday; and courts
leet and baron for the barony of Gilsland are held, at
Easter and Michaelmas, in the town-hall, a neat octagonal
edifice, with a cupola, erected by the Earl of Carlisle,
in 1817, on the site of the former hall, in the market-
place, the lower part being formed into a piazza,
under which butter, eggs, poultry, &c., are sold on the
market-day. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry
and diocese of Carlisle, rated in the king's books
at £8, and in the patronage of the Earl of Carlisle; The
present church was built, in 1788, out of the chapel and
four tenements of an almshouse, and with the materials
of the old church, dedicated to St. Martin, the chancel
of which is still remaining on the southern bank of the
river Irthing, about a mile west of the town, being only
used for the performance of the funeral service for
those who are interred in the cemetery: the new church
was greatly enlarged in 1827, at an expense of £1800,
on which occasion the Rev. Mr. Ramshay, vicar, pre,
sented the parish with six bells and an organ, and now
pays the salaries of the organist and the ringers: he
also, on every alternate Sunday, gives one shilling to
each poor person attending divine service. There are
places of worship for Independents, Primitive and
Wesleyan Methodists, and Presbyterians. A National
school, built by the Earl of Carlisle, in 1817, is supported
by voluntary contributions: an infant school was es»
tablished in 1825. Edward, Earl of Carlisle, built an
hospital for six aged men and as many women, in 1688,
to each of whom he assigned £5 per annum, besides
fuel, and, by will dated in 1691, bequeathed £500 to
purchase lands for its endowment; but this benevolent
purpose was never carried into effect. The hospital was
taken down to make room for the enlargement of the
church, at the east end of which a room has been built,
and is used for a grammar school; the master receives
an annuity of £ 5 from the present earl.
Two miles east of Brampton, and about a mile south
of the river Irthing, commanding a fine view of the
vale of St. Mary, through which that river flows, is
Naworth castle, the ancient baronial seat of the lords
of Gilsland, the earliest notice of which occurs in the
18th of Richard II. The walls, including two large
square towers in the front, besides others^at the angles,
enclose a quadrangular area, each side being forty paces
in length: the entrance is through an embrasured gateway.
The hall, seventy or eighty feet in length, and
of proportionate width and height, displays all the magnificence
of feudal grandeur, and is embellished with
portraits, brought from Kirk-Oswald castle, of the kings
of England prior to the union of the houses of York
and Lancaster, The chapel, to which there is a descent
of several steps, is very ancient, and is decorated with
paintings of the patriarchs and kings of Israel and
Judah; the pulpit and stalls are of carved oak. The
apartments of Lord William Howard, the terror of the
moss-troopers ,in the reign of Elizabeth, are still pret
served, with their ancient furniture: they consist of a
bed-room, an oratory, and a library containing several
books and manuscripts, some of them bearing his autograph,
and an account of the foundation of Glastonbury
abbey by Joseph of Arimathea: the approach to
these apartments is by a very narrow winding staircase,
secured by doors of amazing strength. The dungeons
of the castle, which were the prison for the barony, are
still in their original state: they consist of three cells
underground, and one above, and the strong iron rings
to which the prisoners were chained are still remaining.
To the north-east of Brampton is a high conical
hill, called the Mote, from the summit of which, now
planted with trees, a most extensive view of the surrounding
country is obtained; at some distance from
the base there are vestiges of an intrenchment, and a
breastwork of considerable strength. It is supposed to
have been a Danish encampment, or probably a place
of security for the removal of property in case of invasion,
as, from the steepness of the acclivity, a small
number of men on the summit might overpower an assailing
multitude. At present it forms a link in the
chain of telegraphic communication between the northern
parts of England and the southern parts of Scotland.
To the south of the town is a fine quarry of
freestone, where the Romans obtained part of the materials
for building the great wall, vestiges of which are
still visible; and on the rocky banks of the Gelt are
some Roman inscriptions, of the time of Agricola, one
of whose legions was stationed near Brampton.