“Colourful” barely begins to describe the goings on at Brougham Hall throughout the centuries. but there’s just as much light and shade in the 500-year history of the site itself - as you will discover on your visit here. The Hall’s fame (and not infrequent notoriety) reached its height in the period from 1830 to the early 1900s, and it is the building’s appearance then which we are concerned principally with restoring today.

Brougham Hall was dubbed by Victorians as the “Windsor of the North”. Its physical appearance and fine elevated position above a broad river were two obvious similarities. But Brougham Hall’s long connection with royalty provided the real link. King George V (as he later became) was a regular guest, and so was King Edward V11 whose sporting interests in Cumbria, it was rumoured, covered a broad range of different quarries.

The Brougham Carriage

There’s plenty here to fascinate both the casual visitor... and those with a deeper interest in period architecture. There is a decidedly gothic stamp on many of the buildings and features, but look more closely and you will soon find many earlier design references which bear witness to the existence on this site of a fortified home since 1307.

Our restoration work is taking place as transparently as possible with very few “no go” areas for visitors, which are clearly marked. You are free to explore both the completed sections, and those areas still awaiting restoration. You are responsible for your own safety and that of your guests and children. A superb scale model of the Hall in its heyday can be found in our museum, and you should not leave without visiting the delightful Cromwellian chapel alongside Brougham Hall.