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The History Of Bampton

Bampton is a large parish with a small population. There are two main settlements close to the River Lowther, which runs through the parish and several small hamlets. Away from the valley are many outlying farms on the hillsides and above them an expanse of high, unenclosed, moorland. To the west is Thornthwaite Hall surrounded by land which was a medieval deer park. Further west is the broad valley of Mardale which is only part in Bampton parish. Until the 1930's it had a church, a school, an inn and many farms but all is now submerged under a reservoir constructed to provide water for Manchester 90 miles away.

The high moorlands which are now common grazing, inhabited by sheep and deer show abundant evidence of human habitation and activity in pre-historic times and in Roman times a road, still clearly visible passed across the western corner of the parish at an altitude of more than 2000 feet.

There is evidence in local place names that after the Romans the parish was inhabited by Celts, Angles and Norsemen.

Bampton Grange must have been an important place 800 years ago since it had quite a large Norman church. When Shap Abbey was founded in the 12th century the Premonstratensian canons were granted the right to conduct services in Bampton and to add the tithes to the coffers of their abbey. The footpath which they used along the river from the Abbey to the back of the church is still a public right of way.

In 1623 Bampton Grammar School was founded using money collecting in London by the Reverend Thomas Sutton. By the end of the 18th century the school had become famous for the quality of it's education and for providing students for the Church of England ministry. It attracted boarders from a wide area and by 1840 was describing itself as a 'Classical Boarding Academy".

The late 17th and early 18th century was a time of 'the great re-building' in Bampton. In 1726 the church was decayed beyond repair and was replaced by the church we have now. At the same time the Vicarage which was replaced by a new building on an only slightly drier site nearby. The School and school house were rebuolt at about the same time. Most of the houses along the road in Bampton Grange, which were almost all originally farms, had already been rebuilt a few years previously. A list made at that time names more than 80 farms in the parish and the list may not be complete.

The population in 1787 was 678, more than twice what it is today. Throughout the 19th century young people were leaving the village in search of better paid employment, mostly in towns and the new industrial centres. In the 19th century Bampton was not the quiet place it is today. There were blacksmiths working in Bampton and Bampton Grange and in Bomby and Butterwick. There were several shops, a clog maker, weavers and tailors, at least two butchers and a slaughter house.

There were two pubs in Bampton Grange and a beerhouse in Bampton. There were three mills which probably produced mainly animal feed. One closed, one became a saw mill and one kept going until after the Second World War, as a saw mill which also produced animal feed in a different part of the building. Towards the end of the 19th century farming was in recession and there were attempts by farmers wives and daughters to earn money from dressmaking and opening small shops. At about the same time the school moved to larger premises in Bampton and a suspension bridge was built across the river to shorten the journey to school for the children of Knipe.

In 1929 a village of 66 houses with a shop, police station, Mission hall and Enterntainment hall was built in the space of a few months to house workers and their families, who were brought in to build Haweswater Dam. The large increase in population, particularly of children at the school, must have been quite a shock to a small, isolated village and the shock must have been equally great for the dam builders many of whom came from urban industrial places like Manchester. By 1942 the damn was built and most of the workers went away and the pre-fabricated iron houses were dismantled.

In the mid-20th century Bampton had several buses to Penrith per day and regular visits from mobile shops. Bampton Sports attracted participants from a wide area but more recently it has reduced to a more modest but still popular local event.

The population hasn't decreased much recently but the average age of villagers has increased, so that the school which 25 years ago had 60 pupils had fewer than 10 when it was forced to close recently. With a scattered population of only about 260 Bampton still has 2 pubs, a Post Office and a garage, as well as a village hall and a WI which has been going for 75 years. Memory of Bampton past is kept alive by the Tinclair Library and a flourishing Local History Society.

The above content was provided by Mr John Drinkwater of: Bampton and District Local History Society