Bampton and Bampton Grange

Grid Ref : NY 515182

Bampton village. Aerial photo by Simon Ledingham

Bampton is a pleasant village set in the Lowther valley surrounded by hills. At Bampton the River Lowther is joined by the Haweswater Beck flowing from near by Haweswater Reservoir. Until the 19th century there were many tradespeople in the valley, with tailors, shoemakers, joiners, grocers, butchers, clog makers, master blacksmiths and a miller. There remains a public house, named St Patrick’s Well, a garage and a primary school.

In Bampton grange stands St Patrick’s church, erected in 1726 on the site of an earlier structure, being restored in 1885. Opposite the church is the vicarage, which houses the famous Tinklar Library, containing many books written in Latin. An old saying is ‘they drove the plough in Latin in Bampton’! In the past Bampton Grange also had many commercial premises.

One and a half miles west of Bampton is Burnbanks village, which was built to accommodate the families of the workforce who built Haweswater Dam for Manchester Corporation. Sixty-six bungalows were built, with a mission room, recreation hall and large huts for single workmen. Today, about twenty bungalows remain in various states of repair and habitation.