Brampton, Cambridgeshire

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 52.319384
longitude= -0.233529
official_name= Brampton
population=
civil_parish= Brampton
shire_district= Huntingdonshire
shire_county = Cambridgeshire
region= East of England
constituency_westminster= Huntingdon
post_town= HUNTINGDON
postcode_district = PE28
postcode_area= PE
dial_code= 01480
os_grid_reference= TL205705

Brampton – in Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England – is a village near Godmanchester south west of Huntingdon. It has a population over 5000.

Brampton has been variously known as: Brantune (11th century), Brantone, Bramptone (12th-13th century), Brauntone, Brampton (13th century).

Brampton has a long history and is mentioned in the Domesday Book: there was a church and priest at Brampton in 1086. The Church of St Mary Magdalene or St Mary the Virgin (as it was once called), consists of a chancel with a north vestry, nave, north aisle, south aisle, west tower and north and south porches. This church is mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, but, with the exception of a few parts dating from the 12th century, no part of the current structure is earlier than the 14th century.

At one time the higher part of Brampton parish was forest but there are now less than convert|300|acre|km2 of woodland. Brampton is generally low-lying, mostly being about convert|33|ft|m above sea-level, although the ground rises towards the south west boundary where it reaches convert|164|ft|m.

Brampton is associated with Samuel Pepys and legend has it that his fortune is buried somewhere in the village. Brampton was the home of his uncle, Robert Pepys, elder brother of the diarist's father; his house still stands in the village. Samuel Pepys was known to have stayed there and at the Black Bull Inn in the village.

Aside from the Black Bull, Brampton offers two more drinking establishments, The Dragoon, and The Harrier, named in honour of the RAF base located in the village. Other less accessible places to drink include The Institute, a private members club, and the Bowls Club.

The Grange Hotel, Brampton used to be a hotel and restaurant but is now exclusively a hotel. It is a large 18th-century brick building, once a private residence, but during the Second World War was requisitioned as the headquarters of the American Eighth Air Force. The village is still home to the Royal Air Force at RAF Brampton.

Brampton has one recently-merged school (September 2007) named simply Brampton Village Primary School. Previously there were two schools, situated on the same site: an infants school and a junior school.

Brampton Park Golf Club is an 18-hole course featuring a signature hole completely surrounded by water.

Brampton Garden Centre, run by East Anglian company Frosts is a well respected and popular garden centre. The Garden Centre also has a restaurant which recently won an award for the best Garden Centre Restaurant in the North-Thames area, despite it being nowhere near the Thames.

One of the most recent additions to the village is the Skate Park, the first phase of which was completed in 2005 on the Memorial Playing Fields, alongside the newly-completed Memorial Hall. There are plans to build a second phase to the skate park on the same site once funds have been generated,