The History of Brampton Park Officers' Mess

The House during it's heyday

The history of Brampton Park and the building now used as the Officers’ Mess can be traced back to the 12th Century when the estate was the same size as it is now (approximately 125 acres) and was held in direct fealty to the King by William the Sokeman (Freeman). It was not designated as a Manor and, because of this, William did not enjoy the privileges of the Manorial Lord; nor was the estate placed under the jurisdiction of either of the 2 Manors in the parish of Brampton at the time. Apparently, it was considered to be a 'pleasure estate' administered directly under the King's control, with a tax in those early days of 6 shillings a year. From William, the estate passed to Walter the Sokeman and from him to Ralph the Sokeman.

In 1279, the property was ceded to the family of Philip Daules (probably a Frenchman, Philip D'Aules or de Aules) with a yearly tax of 6 shillings; it then passed to Robert Daules in 1288 and from him, in 1328, to Reyner Daules. The estate was sold in 1389 to John de Farendon and was rented to Jean de la Wyke in 1340 when the rent was 24 shillings and 9 pence. It was around this period that the house was known to be 'ruinous and derelykt'. However, some recovery work was effected and in 1349 the property passed to Richard Farendon. Following his death in 1377, it was divided among his 3 daughters and co-heirs, Isabel, Margaret and Amice. The estate remained divided until 1526, when once again it was placed in the control of one man - Gerard. It was then known as "Gerard's Manor" or "Foster's Manor"; the latter title being derived from the name of Gerard's father, John Foster.

In 1545, Gerard obtained permission to licence the estate to John Newton whose wife appears to have been related to Gerard. Newton, having borrowed against the estate from William Betts of Haddon, defaulted on his repayments; his wife Elizabeth refused to sell the estate to make good the loss. However, in 1550 all the interested parties joined with Gerard Foster to let the manor to Simon Throckmorton, MP for Huntingdon. He died at Brampton in 1585 leaving a son and heir, Robert, whose successors eventually sold Brampton Park to Thomas Hetley (later Sir Thomas Hetley, knight and 'Sergeant at Law'); he died at Brampton in 1637 leaving two sons, Francis and William.

Left: The south facing elevation with its large circular veranda.
Right: The north elevation

Lady Olivia, who outlived her daughter and son-in-law, decided at this stage in the estate's history to build an impressive house. This was initiated by Thomas Whitwell in 1821-2 and much altered by John Buonarotti Papworth in 1825. Prior to this rebuilding, the house was a brick structure, probably built by the Throckmortons, but it had been subjected to little, if any improvement. The new extension became the residential part of the building and had a circular veranda and twisted chimneys as outstanding features. The older, brick-built part of the house was relegated to use as servants' quarters. An additional feature of the estate was its ornamental, terraced garden.

The great fire of 1907

Lady Olivia was a noted philanthropist and is known to have been responsible for a church in Huntingdon which was used by her own private religious sect, "The Countess of Huntingdon Connection". She died in 1863.Twenty six years after the death of Lady Olivia, the building became an institution for the cure of stammerers and remained as such until 1907. In that year there occurred the most spectacular and devastating fire in Brampton Park's history: the eastern half of the building was gutted in a blaze which lasted 3 days. The destruction was so complete that no attempt was made to rebuild the original house and little more than one-third of the building, as it stood before the fire, is now in existence.

These pictures show the extent of the devastation following the great fire in 1907

After the fire

The refurbished area can be distinguished by the brick colour used. The 19th Century building work was completed using mainly yellow bricks and the early 20th Century repairs were carried out using bricks of a more reddish hue. During the first World War, the manor was used to house German prisoners.

In 1930, the Duke of Manchester's successor, Lord Mandeville, became the owner of the property but upon taking up residence himself at Kimbolton Castle in 1937, he leased the estate to a Mr Walston. With the onset of World War 2, the Walstons moved out of the property, which subsequently became the 'Sun Babies Nursery', a home for about 100 infants evacuated from North London. It continued to be used for housing evacuees until the Spring of 1942 when it was taken over by the United States Army Corps (HQ 1st Air Division); the last elements of this formation left in early 1946. During the late Spring of 1945, Headquarters Technical Training Command moved to Brampton from Shinfield Park and the Grange became the functional Headquarters whilst personnel were accommodated in the Park.

On 1st June 1968, Flying Training and Technical Training Commands were merged and Brampton Park became the home of the newly established Headquarters Training Command. A later development in June 1977 combined Training Command and Support Command to form Headquarters Royal Air Force Support Command. Finally, as a result of a further re-organisation, Headquarters Royal Air Force Support Command was disbanded in April 1994, and replaced through the formation of Headquarters Personnel and Training Command at RAF

Innsworth and Headquarters Logistics Command at RAF Brampton. The latter is now resident at Brampton Park Officers' Mess. In 1982 the upper floor suffered another serious fire, this time in a small upstairs dining room in the south-east corner of the building. The room was completely renovated and subsequently reopened as the Phoenix Room in 1983.

A structural survey of this listed building, conducted in 1986, revealed some deterioration of the building fabric and a refurbishment programme began in 1987. As the work progressed, it was discovered that extensive and, in some places, dangerous rot damage had occurred.

The renovation of the main building, which included the complete restyling of the reception area, was finished in late 1988 and the results of the work have seen sensitive blending of modern building and decorative materials with the aim of retaining as much of the character of the old building as possible. The North front as a surviving 19th Century wing as its west end which is nicely balanced by an early 20th Century entrance at the eastern end of the building; the porched entrance, however, is no longer in use but its former glory is still very much in evidence. The 19th Century Pump Room survives on the first floor of the north-west wing and this area has been extensively reinforced to enable the suspension of the renovated doomed ceiling. Some early 20th Century interior features remain, particularly in the area now used as an ante-room.

Left: The main entrance to the mess after the renovation programme carried out in 1987-88.
Right: Brampton Park Officers Mess as it is today