Bampton is a village and

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 ...

in the

Westmorland and Furness Westmorland and Furness is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, Royal ...

unitary authority area of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England, on the edge of the

Lake District National Park The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

. It is in the historic county of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. The parish had a population of 283 according to the 2001 census. In the 2011 census Bampton was grouped with Martindale to give a total of 373. The parish includes the villages of Bampton, Bampton Grange, Butterwick and Bomby. Bampton Grammar school was founded in 17th century when the industrial population was comparatively large. Depopulation reduced the necessity leading to the budgetary axe to fall on school provision. Until 2005 Bampton had a village school, which closed due to lack of children. Haweswater Beck arises as a stream discharge from

Haweswater Reservoir Haweswater is a reservoir in the valley of Mardale, Cumbria in the Lake District, England. Work to raise the height of the original natural lake was started in 1929. It was controversially dammed after the UK Parliament passed a local act o ...

and flows eastward, just north of Firth Woods, and then turns north to join the

River Lowther The River Lowther is a small river which flows through limestone rock in Cumbria, England. It is a tributary of the River Eamont which in turn is a tributary of the River Eden which flows into the Solway Firth near Carlisle. The Lowther begins ...

between Bampton and Bampton Grange. The village of Bampton centres on The Mardale Inn, Bampton Valley Stores, Bampton Memorial Hall & playground, and Bridge End Garage & caravan site. The Mardale Inn was bought as a Community Pub in May 2022 by Bampton Valley Community Pub, a

Community Benefit Society An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...

comprising over 500 Shareholder Members. In Bampton Grange is St Patrick's Church, Bampton and the Crown and Mitre Inn (currently closed to non-residents). Bampton produced England's first woman county councillor, Mary Noble, who represented Askham and Bampton on Westmorland County Council in 1907. Also within the village of Bampton is the traditional

red telephone box The red telephone box is a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect responsible for Liverpool Cathedral. The telephone box is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, its associa ...

used in the 1987 cult classic movie ''

Withnail & I ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Grant ...

''. There is a book called ''Ploughing in Latin'' that has been written about Bampton and one called ''Cast Iron Community'' about Burnbanks, the village built to house the Haweswater dam-builders.

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Bampton
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page)
Bampton Parish web siteSt Patrick's Church, BamptonBampton and District History SocietyBamptonBampton Village Store Bed & Breakfast
Villages in Cumbria Westmorland Civil parishes in Cumbria Westmorland and Furness {{Cumbria-geo-stub

See also

References

External links