All Things Brougham

This website is dedicated to All Things Brougham.

Brougham is a small hamlet 2 miles south of Penrith in Cumbria. It is the home of Brougham Castle and Brougham Hall. 

Brougham has been the centre of many rivalries between the Romans and the Scots, the English and the Scots, and between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.

It is believed that all Brougham's take their name from this small site on the confluence of the River Eamont and the River Lowther.

Historically, the most famous Brougham was the first Lord Brougham, who rose to become the English Lord Chancellor in 1830, a keen anti slave campaigner who steered the anti slave trade bill of 1833 through parliament. He saw the Reform bill be passed, was a keen champion for improved education, introduced the fore runner to the Charities Commission, invented the Brougham carriage and is the founder of modern day Cannes in the South of France.

Peter Brougham-Wyly, a noted Genealogist has researched the Brougham family history and traced back their origins. This is detailed in his unpublished work, A Gathering of Broughams - but not a clean sweep.  A number of Peter's charts are published in the book A History of Brougham Hall and High Head Castle, Mark Thomas - see the Further Information page for more details.