England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Old Brampton St Peter & St Paul

The Parish

The parish of Old Brampton (given its prefix to distinguish it from the suburb of Chesterfield) lies in northern Derbyshire about 3 miles west of Chesterfield. Old Brampton sits about a mile north of the A619 road which connects Chesterfield with Bakewell and the Peak District National Park. The village of Old Brampton is a straggle of properties lining a lane (Main Road) which parallels the A619. Whilst today's Old Brampton is a modestly sized village the wider parish was a hive of industry. The geological assets of coal, ironstone and good quality clay lead to widespread employment not only in the extractive industries but also in manufacture of clay pipes, earthenware and an iron foundry. The steep slopes descending from the Peak District lead to some local spinning and bobbin manufacture for that industry too. Besides these industrial employs farming was important too, largely pastoral with cattle on lower ground and sheep to the uplands further west. Today Old Brampton sits just beyond the growing fringe of Chesterfield's suburbs and appears a tranquil rural place with some tourism due to its proximity to the National Park. Old Brampton is drained eastwards by a combination of the Holme Brook and the River Nipper, both join the Rother in Chesterfield which heads determinedly north to meet the Don one of many rivers converging on the Humber Estuary to reach the North Sea. This is quite an upland area with the village sited at between 160 and 200 metres above the sea, land rises westwards into the Peak District with heights of over 300 metres before the Derbyshire Edge's are reached, a haunt of rock climbers overlooking Chatsworth Estate. Upland parishes are often extensive and Old Brampton was no exception, covering almost 8,000 acres, of which early gazetteers describe almost 1,100 acres as "waste" the wider parish would have supported a population of just over 3,900 parishioners. In Domesday times Old Brampton was a modest place, shared between one Walter d'Aincourt & Hascoit Musard its assets totalled just 8 ploughs as well as extensive woodland and meadows.

The Church

St Peter & St Paul's church sits on the northern side of Main Road more or less centrally along its straggle of properties. This is undoubtedly an ancient church which Pevsner grants an origin to c1100 or even before. The early style of Norman Romanesque is shown well in the southern doorway whilst the western tower has a Norman style window on its southern face. Obviously such an early church has been much modified over the centuries and this work began as early as the mid-13th century when there are documents recording the rebuilding and re-dedication of the church. That Early English Gothic style is shown in the northern doorway, now blocked, and in the southern aisles (restored) lancet window. Further work then followed in the early 14th century, in Decorated style, the western tower received its broach spire and the splendid southern porch was acquired. More modern work was done in Georgian and Victorian times, restorations of the 1820s and 1860s being largely responsible for today's image. This church has a car park a few yards east of the site, a welcome sight as Main Road is fairly narrow and often busy. The local stone walls surrounding the churchyard are pierced by a neatly thatched lychgate leading to a stepped pathway heading for the church. The churchyard is extensive and has few obstacles for the photographer.