Brougham Hall
Encyclopedia
Brougham, Cumbria
Brougham is a small village and civil parish on the outskirts of Penrith in the Eden District of Cumbria, England...
just outside Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The oldest part of the hall is the Tudor building
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
, which dates back to around 1500 and was once the scene of a bloody battle between the English and Scots.
The hall was extended and enlarged between 1830 and 1847, to designs by the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings...
.
In the early twentieth century there was a secret tank development facility at Brougham Hall. The project was known as Canal Defence Light
Canal Defence Light
Canal Defence Light was a British "secret weapon" of the Second World War.It was based upon the use of a powerful carbon-arc searchlight mounted on a tank. It was intended to be used during night-time attacks, when the light would allow enemy positions to be targeted...
(CDL). A plaque at the Hall remembers the men who worked their during the war. There is also a bunker which was used during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The hall was broken up by the 4th Baron Brougham and Vaux, Victor Henry Peter Brougham, in the 1950s so that he could pay his many debts. Today, the hall is the subject of a renovation project by volunteers and is open to visitors throughout the year.
Ghosts
The hall and grounds are reportedly haunted by sounds of soldiers battling in the middle night, world war soldiers marching and various people who were employed at the property including a woman called Emily and a boy who died there. Henry Brougham who lived there in the nineteenth century was reported to be highly interested in spirituality and his spirit and that of his brother William are also said to have been felt by visitors. The hall was investigated in the Living TV series Most HauntedMost Haunted
Most Haunted is a British paranormal documentary reality television series. The series was first shown on 25 May 2002 and ended on 21 July 2010. It was broadcast on Living and presented by Yvette Fielding. The programme was based on investigating purported paranormal activity...
where the team supposedly communicated with the spirits of Emily, the boy and Henry Brougham during a seance and moved a heavy table across the room without explanation.