Chapel Brampton is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

now in the parish of

Church with Chapel Brampton Church with Chapel Brampton is a civil parish in the West Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. The two main settlements are Church Brampton and Chapel Brampton (sometimes known as The Bramptons). The ...

, in the

West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and was created in 2021. It contains the county town of Northampton, as wel ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, England. Together with nearby

Church Brampton Church Brampton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Church with Chapel Brampton, in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. Together with nearby Chapel Brampton the two villages ar ...

, it is known as ''The Bramptons''. At the time of the 2001 census, Chapel Brampton parish's population was 470 people. On 1 April 2009 the parish was abolished and merged with Church Brampton to form "Church with Chapel Brampton".

Village

The villages name means '

Broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...

farm/settlement'. The village is notable for its distinctive Spencer Estate cottages. These Victorian sandstone cottages are of a similar design to cottages found in the nearby villages of

, Harlestone and The Bringtons. Chapel Brampton has three

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

— the Spencer Arms is a former

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

whilst the Brampton Halt was part of the railway station. A new build on the site of the former Boughton cold store is named The Windhover after an old name for the

kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...

. This site is actually within the parish of Boughton. The village has two conference centres: Sedgebrook Hall and Brampton Grange. Sedgebrook Grange was designed by architect John Brown and built in 1930 as a wedding gift for a member of the Houison Craufurd family from Craufurdland Castle in Ayrshire. The (Red) Earl Spencer broke the neck of his favourite horse, Merry Tom, whilst out

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...

and trying to jump the narrow

River Nene The River Nene ( or ) flows through the counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk in Eastern England from its sources in Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire. Flowing Northeast through East England to its mouth at Lutt ...

. The Earl paid for a monument to be erected at the

Brixworth Brixworth is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162, increasing to 5,228 at the 2011 census. The village's All Saints' Church is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Location T ...

end of what is now known as Merry Tom Lane, engraved 'Here Lies the body of Merry Tom'. A local wag scratched on it: "ridden to death by careless John". Merry Tom Lane was also the site of a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

. When the railway is rebuilt a small halt will be built there.

Preserved railway

The nearby railway line is now part of the preserved Northampton & Lamport Railway which has its headquarters at Pitsford and Brampton railway station.

References

External links

A Tale of Two Villages: A Perambulation of Church with Chapel Brampton
by Jack Wagstaff, a long-time resident of Chapel Brampton Villages in Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire District Former civil parishes in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub