Brougham, a parish in Westmoreland. The castle stands on the river Lowther, adjacent to its confluence with the Eamont, near the Lancaster and Carlisle railway, 1 1/2 mile SE of Penrith. Near the castle is the site of the Roman station Brovoniacum, and the Saxon town of Burgham, a place of note now extinct. Post town, Penrith. Acreage, 6226 ; population, 295. Brougham Castle dates from the Saxon times, was granted by William the Conqueror to his nephew, Hugh de Albinois, passed to the Cliffords, suffered desolation in the wars with the Scots, was rebuilt by the Countess Anne in 1652, and passed to the Tuftons. It comprised three square towers with connecting walls enclosing a large court, and extensive ruins of it, grand and striking, still exist. James I. was entertained here during three days on occasion of his last return to England; and the poet Wordsworth makes it the scene of the great festival at the restoration of the "good Lord Clifford :"
"From town to town, from tower to tower,
The red rose is a gladsome flower;
Behold her, how she smiles to-day
On this great throng, this bright array!
Knight, squire, and yeoman, page and groom,
We have them at the feast of Brough'm."
Faint traces of Roman works are seen in the vicinity, and several Roman altars, urns, and coins have been found. A neat, lofty, stone obelisk, called the Countess' Pillar, stands a short distance to the south, erected by the Countess Anno Clifford in 1636 to commemorate her parting from her mother, and sung by Wordsworth, Rogers, Mrs Hemans, and other poets. Brougham Hall, the seat of Lord Brougham, crowns an eminence adjacent to the Lowther river, commands a brilliant view to the mountains beyond UUswater, and has ofteft been called the Windsor of the north. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Carlisle; net value, £260 with residance. Patron, Lord Hothfield. The parish church of Brougham, dedicated to St Ninian, stands in a beautiful situation near the river Eamont, 2 1/2 miles from Brougham Castle, and away from any of the parishioners. Near to Brougham Hall is an ancient chapel, originally erected in all probability for the convenience of the village of Brougham, long since demolished. It was rebuilt by the Countess of Pembroke in the year 1658-59. Being in a dilapidated state about the year 1840, Lord Brougham thoroughly repaired and beautified it, and it is still used for service on Sunday afternoons.
Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1894-5
