Welcome to Brampton

The manor and parish of Brampton was clearly prosperous in it’s own quiet way for many centuries and there are extensive documentary and archaeological records to witness the passing of the centuries and of the generations of families whose heritage we see today.

The industrial revolution saw the rapid urban development of neighbouring Chesterfield to the point where, early in the 19th century it was deemed necessary to create a new parish from the Eastern, more urban parts of the ancient manor.

New Brampton (now shortened simply to Brampton) was created and has it’s own parish church (St Thomas) which was consecrated in 1832. Brampton is now an area within Chesterfield. Here, we are interested in the history of the ancient manor and parish and of the settlements included within it’s boundaries. That includes the Brampton area of Chesterfield.

I am building a searchable database of those who are recorded as having lived and worked there. This differs from a conventional genealogy or family history study in that the individuals are not forcibly linked by family ties.. Though inevitably many will be. Their one point in common is that they have contributed in some way to the life of these communities.

Many young men from the Brampton area gave their lives in the conflicts of the 20th century.

Countless families were touched by the effects of those distant wars.

What You Will Find

If you think you have it tough, read history books.

John Doe

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Buildings

Brampton Police Station

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Buildings

Moorhay Farm, Old Brampton

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History

Horse Tram

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Buildings

Brampton Brewery 1907

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In The News

Newspaper archives offer a unique view of life in the area: News, local business and events advertising, and family notices.

Here you’ll find a selection of those articles, extracted from local newspapers.

Summoned

Edward Silcock, landlord of the ‘Bold Rodney’, and Richard Stenton of the ‘Griffin Inn’. Charged with selling watered down whiskey at the Chesterfield Races. Edward Silcock was cleared. Richard Stenton, fined 10s and costs.

Drunken Behaviour

Drunken behaviour was often heavily punished

Property Sale

Three houses at Little Common sold by auction in the Rose & Crown

Traffic Accident

A cyclist was injured in a collision with a motor vehicle

Mushroom Theft

Expensive mushrooms stolen from land in Old Brampton

Theft of a Ring

A house in Brampton was broken into and several items, including gold and jewellery were stolen. The case was judged at the assizes, and the offender imprisoned for 9 months.

Stray Calves

Maybe the summer of 1937 was dry, and there was insufficient grazing?

Motorist Cleared

After a road accident at the junction of Chatsworth Rd and Walton Rd, the driver of a car was cleared of driving without due care.

Scrumping Apples

A group of young lads scrumping apples at the home of Dr McGlashan, Ash Lodge, Old Rd. The magistrates took a dim view of what was doubtless a regular activity for young lads at the time.

Public Health Concerns

This letter, published in the Derbyshire Times in 1866, reminds us of the public health concerns in any urban community at the time.

Some Interesting Stories

Alfred & Mary Annie Buxton

Alfred and Mary Annie lived in Alma St, Brampton at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

Alfred was a humble pottery worker and his large family undoubtedly lived in difficult and very basic conditions. As was normal at the time, the couple had a large family and were entirely unremarkable. They suffered the tragic loss of their young daughter, Lucy but much worse was to come..

The Great War began in 1914 and three of the couple’s son’s quickly enlisted. Tragically Walter was killed in 1916, his brother Frederick also died in Flanders the following year.

We cannot imagine the grief felt by this family, whose story, sadly was reflected in families throughout Europe at the time.

Tramway

Horse drawn tram services began in 1882. The line ran from Walton Lane to Low Pavement. While not initially commercially successful, the fleet gradually grew to 8 vehicles.

A new electric tram service opened in December 1904, using 12 new trams on extended routes from Whittington Moor to the Terminus on Chatsworth Rd. By the outbreak of war in 1914, the fleet had been extended to 17 trams.

By the mid 1920’s however, the system was no longer viable and in 1927 the trams were replaced by an electric trolley bus service which no longer required tracks.

A great engineering achievement and a revolution in public transport which lasted only 45 short years.