Brougham Castle - Brougham, Nr. Penrith, Cumbria (EH)
The site now occupied by Brougham Castle had been used as a defensive and strategic stronghold since at least Roman times. The Roman fort of Brocavum, which provided ready cut building materials for the castle, stood to the south and like its later counterpart, commanded the crossing of the river Eamont. By 1214, the land had been acquired by one of King John's most important agents in the troublesome North, Robert de Vieuxpont. The earliest building was a stone keep and service buildings, surrounded by a wooden palisade. Robert was to defend his lands, and those of the King, against John's enemies and their Scottish allies. Robert's great-granddaughter, Isabella, married Roger Clifford in 1268 and Brougham was absorbed into the important Clifford family's estates.
By 1300, a stone curtain wall had been built and Robert Clifford, Roger and Isabella's son, also set about building the gatehouse complex, the upper storeys of the Keep and the Tower of League as further defences against the Scottish raids. By the 1380's, Robert's grandson, Roger, had further increased the size and luxury of Brougham, providing a new Great Hall along the south curtain wall. The carved stone presently over the entrance to the gatehouse with the legend 'Thys made Roger', was originally over the door to the new Hall. Despite the new improvements, Broughton was raided and sacked by the Scots in 1388. Re-occupation is not documented until 1421.
During the Wars of the Roses, the Lancastrian Cliffords were dispossessed of Brougham by Edward IV after John Clifford was killed fighting for Henry VI. His son Henry Clifford regained the estates and the family prospered again under the Tudor monarchs. His son George was made Earl of Cumberland in 1525 and the family spent time at Brougham once again.
During the third Earl's time, however, the castle was neglected and fell into decay. When George died, his widow was granted Brougham as a dower-house and Brougham's fortunes were revived for the last time. Their only child, Anne Clifford, after years of struggle to claim her rightful inheritance, was granted the Clifford estates and money on the death of her cousin and set about repairing her castles in the north of England. Anne worked tirelessly to reclaim the glory days of medieval nobility and made almost regal progressions around her castles, repairing and refurnishing at Carlisle, Brougham, Brough, Pendragon, Appleby, Skipton and Barden. Although she was a hard landlord, she was a generous employer and patronised local craftsmen and shopkeepers whenever she could. An eccentric lady, she was also a devoted mother and grandmother and a pious Christian. Wherever she could she repaired her castles in what she took to be their original style, erecting inscriptions quoting passages from Isaiah. On some of her properties, it is now difficult to ascertain which parts are original and which belong to Lady Anne's repairs.
Lady Anne Clifford died at Brougham in 1676, having almost bypassed the Civil War, but her passing was the end of the road for Broughton's fortunes. Her heir, the Earl of Thanet, made Appleby Castle his home and gradually sold off the contents of his other castles. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the picturesque ruins were considered important enough for the last Earl of Thanet to carry out repairs, but the vast expense proved too much and in 1928, Broughton came into the care of the Ministry of Works, thence to English Heritage.