Brough (), sometimes known as Brough under Stainmore, 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 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 ...

and the ceremonial county 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, within 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 A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

area, on the western fringe of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

near Stainmore. The village is on the A66 trans-Pennine road, and the Swindale Beck, and is about south east of

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby is the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. ...

. Brough is situated north east of Kirkby Stephen and north east of

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

on the A685. At the 2001 census it had a population of 680, increasing to 751 at the 2011 Census. This rose to 820 people at the 2021 Census.

History

The village is on the site of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fort of Verterae ("The Forts"), on the northern leg of the Roman-era

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

, linking

Luguvalium Luguvalium (or ''Luguvalium Carvetiorum'') was an ancient Roman Empire, Roman city in northern Roman Britain, Britain located within present-day Carlisle, Cumbria, Carlisle, Cumbria, and may have been the capital of the 4th-century Roman provinc ...

(

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

) with

Eboracum Eboracum () was a castra, fort and later a coloniae, city in the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the ...

(

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

) and points south. The area of the rectangular fort, which once occupied the land to the south of the Swindale Beck, is now a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. Brough Castle was built in the 11th century within the northern part of the former fort. Like many other castles in the area, Brough was restored in the 17th century by

Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' ...

. The Castle is now in the care of English Heritage and its ruins can be visited. Brough has historically been divided into Market Brough, to the north, and Church Brough, to the south and centred on the castle and St Michael's Church. In 1977 this division was made physical by the construction of the Brough bypass dual carriageway, taking the A66 away from the village main street. Up to some time before 1777, opposite the market cross going up towards Stainmore, there was a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

dedicated to

Saint Winifred Saint Winifred (or Winefride; ; ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh virgin martyr of the 7th century. Her story was celebrated as early as the 8th century, but became popular in England in the 12th, when her hagiography was first writ ...

(Gwenfrewi), which before the Reformation was a place of pilgrimage. Nearby is Augill Castle, built in 1841 by John Bagot Pearson from Kirkby Lonsdale as a weekend retreat, a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and now a hotel.

Governance

Brough is in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Westmorland and Lonsdale Westmorland and Lonsdale is a constituency in the south of Cumbria, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats (2015–2017). Westmorland and Lonsdale is the Lib ...

. Since April 2023, it is in the

of the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

of Cumbria. An

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the name of Brough exists. This ward stretches from Musgrave to Stainmore with a total population of 1,317.

The holly tree tradition

Traditionally, on

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

, a burning

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

tree (subsequently,

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

s were used) would be carried through the village, followed by a brass band. When the flames had partially gone out, the villagers would try to bring the tree to a pub, where the party would continue until the early hours of the morning. The village was also the venue for a popular fair on the second Thursday of March.

St Michael's church

St Michael's Church is a large building with an impressive tower. The oldest parts date from the Norman period, and may have suffered during

William I of Scotland William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

's attack on the castle in 1174. The church was enlarged in the 14th century, to add the north aisle, and in the early 16th century when most of the existing structure was built. The tower was constructed by Thomas Blenkinsop of Helbeck in 1513. There are four bells, which are noted as the heaviest ring of four bells hung for full circle ringing in the World. They were removed for restoration in November 2022. The restored bells were test rung on 29 June 2023 and blessed by Bishop James Bell at a combined benefice service on Sunday 30 July 2023.The Ringing World - 4 Aug 2023, "The Heaviest four at Brough" by Ron East There is a large war memorial within the nave.

Events

Brough Agricultural Show, held every year in August. Cumbria Easter Rally, held yearly on Easter weekend. A monthly farmers' market held on the third Saturday of every month, in the Memorial Hall in Brough.

Brough Football Club

Brough Football Club is the village's local football team. After being re-founded in 2020, a football club in Brough can be dated back to 1889, possibly even earlier. The club's home pitch is Coltsford Common in Church Brough. Brough FC has a men's team in Division Four of the Westmorland Football League, sponsored by Kendal Calling. The team plays in the club's traditional colours of blue and white stripes, with a red away kit.

Gallery

File:Brough, Cumbria, The Coronation clock tower - geograph.org.uk - 247717.jpg, The Coronation clock tower File:Brough under stainmore st michael.jpg, St Michael's Church. File:St Michael's Church interior Brough cumbria..jpg, Interior of St Michael's church File:Church Brough - geograph.org.uk - 17752.jpg, Church Brough - The Green File:Augill Castle, Brough, Cumbria (geograph 1649274).jpg, Augill Castle File:Hollytree brough.JPG, Parading the holly tree File:Brough Castle - geograph.org.uk - 3131306.jpg, View of the castle from Coltsford Common

References

External links

Cumbria County History Trust: Brough under Stainmore
(nb: provisional research only - see Talk page) {{authority control Villages in Cumbria Civil parishes in Cumbria Roman sites in Cumbria Westmorland and Furness