On 14 October 1905, King Edward VII assembled Britain’s first royal motorcade, setting off from Brougham Hall at 11.25am. The vehicles travelled along a 54-mile stretch of road that had been hand-swept to ensure that the King did not get a puncture. At every intersection, a policeman pointed in the direction that the King should go. A 40hp plum coloured Mercedes had been brought down from Balmoral specially for the purpose, and various other motorcars joined in the motorcade at Brougham Hall.

A few years later, the fourth Lord Brougham purchased a pair of eight litre Bentleys, both still in existence. Only 100 of these vehicles were ever made, costing £1,850 each at the time of purchase. The Chairman and owner of Bentley Motors, Wolfie Benarto, was a regular visitor to house parties at Brougham Hall and attended the fourth Lord Brougham’s marriage at St Margaret’s Westminster, on 21 April 1931, just three months before Rolls Royce bought Bentley Motors for £125,275.

In 1942, Winston Churchill commandeered Brougham Hall, along with Lowther Castle and Greystoke Castle, for the development of an extraordinary weapon. This tank, equipped with a 13 million candlepower white arc light, had a strobe operating at a frequency which had the effect of blinding the enemy temporarily. These armoured vehicles, made from Grants, Matildas and Churchills were without any offensive weaponry other than the light. The plan was to move forward in a V formation of 154 tanks, comprising three squadrons of 50, along with a headquarters squadron of 4.

The light had a range of 1,000 metres, rendering any opposing soldiers incapable of fighting. In the event, the tanks were never used as had been intended. However, they were used to illuminate the Rhine for the Remagen crossing on 5 March 1945, and for mopping up operations in Mesopotamia and north Eastern India, where the Japanese forces were attempting to cross the border from occupied Burma.

After the War, the army camp at Brougham was turned into a displaced persons camp. Thereafter, it was commandeered by the Ministry of Supply and used as a petrol dump.

On 16 May 2004, Brougham Hall was honoured by a visit from the Rolls Royce & Bentley Enthusiasts’ Club, who were celebrating the centenary of Mr Royce meeting Mr Rolls, for the first time, in the Midland Hotel in Manchester.