Brampton, Norfolk

Welcome

Brampton and Oxnead Parish Council

Parish Council Meetings

  • Parish Council meetings are held every second Wednesday of May, July, September, November, January and March.
  • Annual Parish Meeting took place on May 27th, 7.30 pm in Brampton Village Hall. This is an opportunity for residents of the parish to discuss any subject linked to the villages of Brampton and Oxnead. Full details will be shared closer to the date. A Parish Council meeting followed.
  • Parish council meetings start at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall, and you are all welcome to join us. In the summer meetings we can change the venue to meet at the community field.
  • We are looking for new parish councillors, please contact the clerk if you are interested at clerk@bramptonoxnead-pc.gov.uk
  • You will find the agenda here
  • You will find the minutes of the last meeting here

NEXT meeting: Wednesday July 15th, 7.30 pm at the community field.

  • Brampton, Norfolk

    This website is for the village of Brampton in Norfolk. The village is linked through the Parish Council with the neighbouring historic hamlet of Oxnead.

    Brampton is one of the smallest villages in Norfolk and is almost certainly the smallest of all the places with the same name throughout the world. The village is located in the valley of the River Bure some 2.5 miles from the market town of Aylsham.

    The village has a rich history. Archaeological finds go back to the neolithic era but much dates from Roman times when the site was a bustling industrial centre with maritime links to the rest of the empire. Pottery and metal products were the main items manufactured here. The village sign is based on a Roman artefact discovered in the village which can now be seen in Norwich Castle Museum. Excavations in the 1960’s & 70’s uncovered a Roman bath house and much evidence of industrial activity. It also identified the location of the port area from where the manufactured items were exported.

    The River Bure was navigable through Brampton until 1912 when wherries (Norfolk cargo carrying river boats) would transit to the mill at Aylsham. Brampton itself had a staithe (landing place) and at least one wherry was based here. Today the head of navigation is Coltishall from where the Bure forms an important part of the Broads network as it wends its way to Great Yarmouth.

    Today the village is unspoilt and very quiet. Visitors on foot, bike or horseback are very welcome but our narrow lanes and lack of parking makes a visit by car very difficult. There is a station at Brampton on the Bure Valley Railway; a footpath and cycle way runs alongside.

    There are a number of footpaths in and around Brampton. One of the favourites is the causeway path (known as the ‘Karnser’) that leads to Burgh-next-Aylsham. This route crosses the Bure by way of the Cradle Bridge and then crosses the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Burgh.

    St. Peter’s Church Brampton lies at the north of the village at the end of a shallow ridge which overlooks the river valley.  The church is one of the 124 ‘round-tower’ churches of Norfolk and is Grade II* Listed Building.

     

  • Hornets and other insects in Brampton

    It has been a good year for most insects. After a relatively mid winter, followed by a wet spring and then better weather in early summer aphid numbers seemed to rocket.  There was much concern on the village allotments as early brassicas seemed to be in danger of disappearing in plague levels of aphids.  Spraying followed, but not with excessively toxic commercial insecticides, but with soap-based sprays. Possibly not as immediately effective as shop-bought sprays, but certainly less polluting.  The Brussel sprouts gradually recovered.  Nature does have a way of balancing things out. First the Ladybirds arrived in numbers – they helped a lot.  Then the wasps arrived, large nests were made in the dry ground and they also acted as the gardener’s friends. Left alone, they cause very little trouble and do an immense amount of good.

    This autumn, Brampton has also seen a the arrival of large numbers of hornets. British Hornets, not the invasive Asian Yellow-Legged Variety (which decimate bee populations). Native Hornets are large, some are over an inch long and they are really an impressive sight. They are most active in the warm evenings from twilight onwards.  They are attracted to artificial light and will ‘knock on the window’ at light shining through. In spite of their fearsome-looking appearance they are much less aggressive than wasps.  If they get into the house, it is best to guide them out rather than kill them. They feed on other insects and on some plant-based nectar or sap. The nest will diminish as the cold weather arrives and solitary queens will disperse to over-winter and will form new colonies next summer.  More information on Hornets can be found on https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/bees-and-wasps/hornet

     

  • Gathering flocks – House Martins

    2025 has been a successful breeding year for many birds species.  Indeed, many Swallow nests have produced two or even three broods over a summer which has been rich in insect life.  Some but not all of the Swallows have left the UK as yet.  House Martins, which are welcomed by many as guests over the summer can been seen gathering in large flocks as they prepare to depart.  Over the last two weeks flocks of  House Martins numbering 60+ individuals (including a few Sand Martins) can be spotted over Oxnead Hall and Hall Farm as they build up reserves for the autumn migration.   It will not be long before they disappear for the winter.   They will overwinter in West Africa – both Guinea and Nigeria have been cited as their favoured destinations – but in truth, more migration research is still needed into the habits of this summer visitor.

  • Church Noticeboard

    After forty+ years of service,  the old church noticeboard reached the end of its natural life last last year.   All was not lost however as a new noticeboard has been made to take its place. This is the largely the work of John Gubb, who was born in the village. John wanted to create a new noticeboard in memory of past members of his Brampton family, many of whom lie buried in the churchyard.  John, who retired as a woodwork tutor many years ago but still runs a workshop at home, created a new noticeboard based upon ‘somewhat detailed’ brief. It is made of oak and the pediment carries the carved cross-keys of Brampton Church’s patron saint, St Peter. These, and the church name, were carved using computer technology run by Lee Ellis at Advanced Joinery at Marsham. The signboard carries other unique touches which relate to the history of the church itself, but I will leave you to spot these for yourselves. Thanks are also extended to Neil Buchanan for his practical help and guidance in getting the job done. The new creation was ‘topped out’ formally at a small ceremony overseen by the Rev Sally McCubbin on 19th June 2025.

  • Brampton wildlife: Finches in the snow

    As I write, I can look up to see a garden full of finches. The visiting flock of Bramblings, which varies in number from a dozen to a score of birds, has been a daily site, along with the regular Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Chaffinches. The snow is dirty and on the verge of a thaw. The various feeders of Niger and sunflower seed, peanuts and a wheat based mix have become a hub for the hard-pressed bird population. Outside the garden two neighbouring farms have established almost twenty acres of winter bird food crops and these have harboured large flocks of Linnet and Yellowhammers; their flocks often of 40-80 strong, perhaps more. If ever I wanted to demonstrate the value of supplementary feeding, this is the place and the time.

  • Brampton Spring: annual Litter Pick

    The annual Brampton Litter Pick has become such an established event within the village calendar that we have started to treat it as the ‘first sign of spring’. Although, as I write this   on the next day, Sunday, in which one can almost ‘bask’ in spring sunshine, the slightly duller Saturday weather still favoured all those who gave a voluntary hour to the task.

    It is sad fact that we still need to do this every year in order to maintain the beauty of our surroundings, but it gives us all an excuse (not that an excuse is really needed) to get together for collective task.

    ‘It is like that we are clearing up after a few serial litter louts. The theme is generally the same. Lager cans of a particular brand, containers for a well-know fast food supplier, dog poo bags left hanging in the hedges (As if that was considered as “clearing up”).

    Anyway, job done. Thanks to everyone who participated. The parish looks ready for the warmer weather.

  • Brampton winter – gathering flocks

    The frosts of mid to late January have changed the habits of the parish wildlife.  The most marked change being the flocking of the birds. The Woodpigeons gather into gangs, but most noticeable of all are the large flocks of finches. The finch flocks – consisting mainly of Chaffinchs, Greenfinches, Bramblings, Goldfinches and Linnets – gravitate to the fields planted for this very purpose at the south end of the village. The farm’s conservation scheme, ‘Wild Bird Cover’, consists of a special mix of seed-bearing plants, and it is working. On a fine clear Saturday morning I counted 60 in one flock perched atop the hedgerow trees whilst another, half as big, wheeled round above.   A good example of successful farm-based conservation.

    Frosty clear nights echo with the calls of courting foxes. One evening this week a dog fox called as it ran done the village street making all the dogs jump from their slumber.

  • Brampton winter: morning hawk

    Boxing Day morning seemed quiet. The whole village appeared to having a lie-in. On days like these the rest of the parish’s residents – at least the wildlife ones – carry on with business as usual. As I walked past the allotments arrowheads of duck and purposeful pigeons travelled in opposite directions. Finches settled in the tops of the sycamore along the edge of the ‘wild bird food’ crops on the old shoreline. Then, I swear I felt the rush of air as a hawk overtook me on the village street. A male sparrowhawk appeared from over my shoulder, dropped to a few inches above the road surface and flew intent and fast along the lane. Intent, no doubt, upon ambushing a finch.

  • Brampton winter: Fieldfares & Redwings

    The hedgerow berries, such as Hawthorn,  have been bountiful this year. But The winter thrushes, the Redwings and Fieldfares, wait until the sharpest frosts of December have passed before they feed upon them. This morning, the 16th December, was the key date for this year’s feast. Numerous scattered flocks roll and flutter from bush to bush ahead of us as we walk along the old railway line. Their calls, a strange mixed chorus of the Fieldfares’ ‘chock-chook’ calls and their Redwings’ weaker ‘seeep’, surround us during their frenzy of feeding.

    ‘The next week, the Hawthorns are stripped. All but the outermost berries  have been taken.

  • Brampton: Autumn and the Michaelmas arrivals

    Over the last few days the evening has arrived with golden sunset. It feels like a time of change – the last Swallows skimmed the last stubble of the harvest a few days ago, before heading south. The autumn migrants have arrived from the north.

    It was last Wednesday evening, whilst accompanied by a post-hopping Barn Owl, that we heard this year’s Golden Plover. Their plaintive whistling calls carry to us, above even the traffic noise along the Buxton Road. It was twilight, the sunset had been spectacular and darkness was falling fast. Every year flocks of Golden Plover rest for a few days on tawny arable fields above the old Roman Road. We could hear their calls but their restless flocks were invisible.

    This morning’s clear skies, after a light frost, rendered the chance of seeing them altogether better. Looking south we soon spotted the flock of about fifty birds, their silhouette unmistakable – on knife-shaped wings they wheeled and turned, in synchrony their colours alternating dark and pale as they flew. Flying for fun, circling and settling before setting off again. All the time their whistles carrying down to us, earthbound.

  • Brampton time travelers leap back in time

    Jilly and Piet prepare to travel back to the 1940’s (To the Sheringham 1940’s Weekend), although from Brampton in 2018 – perhaps not such  large leap after all…!