- Brampton Bryan
infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Brampton Bryan
population= c.150
unitary_england=Herefordshire
region= West Midlandsconstituency_westminster= Leominster
post_town= BUCKNELL
postcode_district = SY7
postcode_area= SY
dial_code= 01547
os_grid_reference= SO375725
latitude= 52.3469longitude= -2.9189
Brampton Bryan is a small village situated on the northern boundaries of
Herefordshire close toShropshire and the Welsh border. Brampton Bryan lies mid-way betweenLeintwardine and Knighton on theA4113 road . The village has had a complex history and its buildings reflect this. Much of Brampton Bryan is owned by the Harley Estate who have controlled the area since the early fourteenth century. They succeeded the powerfulMortimer family.Buildings
The ruins of
Brampton Bryan Castle are on afloodplain south of theRiver Teme , 50 m north of the church. From this site the castle guarded an important route fromLudlow along the Teme Valley to Knighton and on into CentralWales . The area has been important since Roman times and the village is a few miles west ofLeintwardine - an important Roman site.The current buildings include the ruined earthwork and buried remains of the quadrangular castle. Themedieval layout consisted of four ranges built around a courtyard, with agatehouse contained within the southerncurtain wall , to which a large outer gatehouse was added. The whole was constructed on a motte and surrounded by amoat , with the approach to the castle being from the south across a bridge to the gatehouse.The north range contained the hall and service bay, both at first floor level, with the kitchen to the east. Private accommodation was found in the other ranges, with further chambers above the gate passage of the inner gatehouse and on the first floor of the outer gatehouse.
The current house was built following the
English Civil War and is largely eighteenth century.StBarnabas Church was built in 1656, during the period of the Commonwealth. It replaces an earlier building that was destroyed during the siege of Brampton Bryan castle in 1643. Whilst from the outside the church has a considerable appeal, once entered the effect is unnerving due to its breadth being entirely out of proportion to its length. Its nave and chancel are one and covered by a very fine doublehammerbeam roof . The roof may well have been constructed from the ruins of the castle. It contains an early 14th century monument to Lady Margaret de Brampton, who is shown holding her heart in her hands. For more details see theWigmore Abbey site. [cite web | author= | title=Wigmore Abbey |url=http://www.wigmore-abbey.org.uk/brampton.htm| accessdate=2007-11-20]Other buildings within the village include a number of fine Georgian houses and some earlier timber-framed buildings situated around the small triangular green.
History
The village is mentioned in the
Domesday Survey when it formed part of the estate of Ralph deMortimer although evidence of occupation extends back to at least Roman times; as the remains of a temporary marching camp lie near the village. [cite web|url=http://www.roman-britain.org/places/brampton_bryan.htm|title=Temporary Marching Camp, Brampton Bryan, Herefordshire]It is perhaps more famous as the site of an action in the
English Civil War .Robert Harley (1579-1656) a prominentMarcher Lord , was a dedicatedPuritan and served as a Member of Parliament. Situated in a predominantly Royalist area of the country, the estate and castle were vulnerable to attack. This notwithstanding, Robert Harley left the defence of the castle in the hands of his remarkable wife, LadyBrilliana Harley . Brilliana was the daughter of Sir Edward and Dorothy Conway, ofRagley inWarwickshire , and she became Robert Harley's third wife in March 1624.Perhaps due to her reputation in the area the castle was not attacked until
26 July 1643 over a year after Parliament had first looked to raise an army to oppose the King. Before this, Fitzwilliam Coningsby the RoyalistSheriff ofHereford had restricted himself to ordering the Harley tenants to pay their rents directly to him and those that refused were sent to jail. Subsequently attacks were made on the property and livestock stolen. At the end of July 1643 events came to a head and Sir William Vavasour, the newly-appointed governor of Hereford, surrounded Brampton Bryan with a mixed force ofcavalry andinfantrymen of about 700 soldiers.Brilliana and three of her children together with 100 of her tenants (many of them armed) held the castle. Conditions inside rapidly deteriorated. Cattle, sheep and horses were plundered, all the buildings in the village were burnt to the ground and the castle was attacked with cannon and shot. Fortunately however inside the castle casualties were low and only one death and a few injuries are recorded. By contrast the attackers faired less well and nearly a tenth of the company were either killed or injured. After some weeks the siege was lifted and in October Vavasour left the area to join the Royalist attack on
Gloucester .For some months afterwards an uneasy truce prevailed (although this did not stop Brilliana sending her men on a successful military raid into Wales against the Royalist forces), however Brilliana's health worsened and she died before the end of the year.
Following her death the command of the garrison was put in the hands of the family doctor Nathaniel Wright and the Royalist forces began a second siege of the castle in the spring of the following year. This second siege lasted only three weeks and the Royalists reinforced by additional weaponry inflicted much more substantial damage upon the castle with mines and powerful artillery. The siege ended when Dr Wright surrendered to the attacking forces led by Sir Michael Woodhouse, Sir William Vavasour and Sir William Croft. The building was sacked and burnt and the prisoners, including the three young Harley children, were taken to
Shrewsbury .Despite the loss of his castle Robert Harley's support of the Roundhead cause proved to be a wise one, and following Cromwell's victory he was well rewarded — his compensation for losses suffered amounted to some £13,000 (£1 million+ [2006 value] ). [cite web | author= | title=Measuring Worth |url=http://www.measuringworth.com/| accessdate=2007-11-20]
Today
Today the village is a Herefordshire hamlet which in addition to its church possesses a small
tearoom called 'Angelica's Herbs and Tea Garden', which boasts both an indoor tea area with an open fire and a tea garden (as the name implies) as well as sells a variety of herbs, a largebookshop (as is not uncommon in the county), Aardvark books, which sells over 20,000 titles, and a remarkable and ancient yew hedge.Famous Residents
The comedian
Jo Brand has been seen in nearby shops and is reputed to live nearby or be visiting a close family relation.ources
* [http://www.smr.herefordshire.gov.uk/castles/castlesdata_az/brampton%20bryan.htm Herefordshire County Council]
*cite book|title=Radnorshire from Civil War to Restoration|author=Keith Parker|id=ISBN 1873827865References
External links
* [http://reflectionthroughtheseasons.blogspot.com/2006/02/brampton-bryan-2-this-is-village-of.html Pictures of the village]
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