Brigham
Encyclopedia
The village of Brigham, near the town of Cockermouth
, Cumbria
, England
, has existed as a settlement since neolithic times.
Brigham was an early centre of Christianity in Cumbria. The church of St Bridget's
, was originally a Norman
building, and is situated at the far north of the village, known as Low Brigham; it contains several fragments of pre-Norman crosses and other early carved stones. A disused quarry is situated in the centre of the village, above which runs the main street of High Brigham. The quarry is bisected by the road called Stang Lonning. Newer housing estates known as High Rigg and The Hill are at the west and east of the village.
Until the closure of the Cockermouth and Workington Railway
in 1966, Brigham had a railway station
. At one time there was also a second station serving the hamlet of Broughton Cross, 1 km west of the main village.
The village gave its name to HMS Brigham
, a Ham class minesweeper
. The ship's bell from this vessel is now in St Bridget's Church of England primary school in the village. Until a more modern fire alarm system
was installed, this bell was rung as the fire alarm for the school.
The family of Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian are buried in the graveyard at St. Bridget's. Fletcher himself, born and raised in the township of Eaglesfield within Brigham parish, and christened at St. Bridget's, is thought to be buried on Pitcairn Island, though some have claimed that he returned secretly to England.
The village has its own Church of England
primary school, St. Bridget's, with just over 100 pupils. There is no longer a Post Office
in Brigham, though there is still a village store and a social club.
Cockermouth
-History:The Romans created a fort at Derventio, now the adjoining village of Papcastle, to protect the river crossing, which had become located on a major route for troops heading towards Hadrian's Wall....
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, has existed as a settlement since neolithic times.
Brigham was an early centre of Christianity in Cumbria. The church of St Bridget's
St Bridget's Church, Brigham
St Bridget's Church, Brigham, is in the village of Brigham, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Solway, the archdeaconry of West Cumberland, and the diocese of Carlisle...
, was originally a Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
building, and is situated at the far north of the village, known as Low Brigham; it contains several fragments of pre-Norman crosses and other early carved stones. A disused quarry is situated in the centre of the village, above which runs the main street of High Brigham. The quarry is bisected by the road called Stang Lonning. Newer housing estates known as High Rigg and The Hill are at the west and east of the village.
Until the closure of the Cockermouth and Workington Railway
Cockermouth and Workington Railway
The Cockermouth & Workington Railway was a railway between the towns of Workington and Cockermouth established by Act of Parliament in 1845. A single-tracked line of eight and a half miles length, it was built primarily to carry coals from the pits of West Cumberland to the port at Workington for...
in 1966, Brigham had a railway station
Brigham railway station
Brigham railway station was situated on the Cockermouth and Workington Railway and served the village of Brigham. The station opened on 28 April 1847, and closed on 18 April 1966. Remains of the station and the junction to Papcastle station are still visible on the A66 road before the Great...
. At one time there was also a second station serving the hamlet of Broughton Cross, 1 km west of the main village.
The village gave its name to HMS Brigham
HMS Brigham
HMS Brigham was one of 93 ships of the of inshore minesweepers.Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Brigham in Cumbria....
, a Ham class minesweeper
Ham class minesweeper
The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers , known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. It took its name from the fact that all the ship names were British place names ending in -"ham"...
. The ship's bell from this vessel is now in St Bridget's Church of England primary school in the village. Until a more modern fire alarm system
Fire alarm system
An automatic fire alarm system is designed to detect the unwanted presence of fire by monitoring environmental changes associated with combustion. In general, a fire alarm system is classified as either automatically actuated, manually actuated, or both...
was installed, this bell was rung as the fire alarm for the school.
The family of Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian are buried in the graveyard at St. Bridget's. Fletcher himself, born and raised in the township of Eaglesfield within Brigham parish, and christened at St. Bridget's, is thought to be buried on Pitcairn Island, though some have claimed that he returned secretly to England.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
primary school, St. Bridget's, with just over 100 pupils. There is no longer a Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
in Brigham, though there is still a village store and a social club.