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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a unitary authority area covering part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, created in 2021. By far the largest settlement in West Northamptonshire is the county town of Northampton. Its other signific ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Together with nearby Church Brampton, it is known as '' The Bramptons''. At the time of the 2001 census, Chapel Brampton parish's population was 470 people. At the 2011 census the population was included in the civil parish of Church with Chapel Brampton.

Village

The villages name means '

Broom A broom (also known in some forms 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. I ...

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 Church Brampton,

Harlestone Harlestone is a small village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village had a recorded population of 445 in the 2011 census. The village is divided into two smaller settlements: Upper Harlestone and Lower Harlestone, which ...

and The Bringtons. Chapel Brampton has three

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

— the Spencer Arms is a former coaching inn 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 french: crécerelle, 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 behaviou ...

. 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 and trying to jump the narrow

River Nene The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...

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

Brixworth Brixworth is a large 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. Loca ...

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, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

. 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 The Northampton and Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly north of Northampton. Overview ...

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