Idyllic Yorkshire ‘family’ village sees everyone stick together

Being nestled near the junction that connects two busy motorways may sound like the sort of place you’d avoid settling in, but life in the village of Brampton-en-le-Morthen is as tranquil as it gets. The tiny South Yorkshire village near the M1 and M18 is likely known to many as home to the Rising Deer, a family pub in the wondrous countryside where the play area and hatch to buy sweets from made it a perfect spot to allow children to cause havoc while adults socialised. And while there’s been little else of note since the pub closed 15 years ago and the village may only have a few lines dedicated to it on Wikipedia, talking to the locals makes you think of Brampton-en-le-Morthen as one of the most fascinating and friendly villages in Yorkshire.

The small village of just around 30 houses was mentioned in the Domesday Book and has roots dating back to the Anglo Saxon and Roman period as well as buildings maintained from the Tudor times. The current cast of local characters keep alive this history by passing on the heritage to later generations and also ensure that the village’s spirit remains lively by holding regular events through the year and nurturing a strong community feel. : I visited Yorkshire’s ‘worst’ seaside town on the worst day and left feeling confused

The Rising Deer has now been refurbished and reopened as a restaurant and interest in the historical village, which has a strong case for being Yorkshire’s oldest, is being revived. We visited on a glorious March day to try and speak to the locals in the stone cottages and farms and about life in this unique location. Upon touching down a couple of the new faces insisted that we speak to a set of residents that had lived in the village their whole lives and were integral to its distinctly Yorkshire charm.

The first were the married couple Malcolm and Darille Basford, who were both set to celebrate their 80th birthdays this coming year.

The Rising Deer in Brampton-en-le-Morthen reopened after 15 years of closure recently (Image: YorkshireLive)

They know full well that the village knows how to celebrate occasions as well, having helped organise countless Christmas and Easter festivities as well as birthday parties, scarecrow competitions and events to commemorate past wars and other events. Darille, who has lived in the village her whole life, said: “It’s a proper family village. Everybody knows one another.

If you are in any trouble or need anything you can ask anyone and they will help you out.” Darille explained that while a number of new faces have joined the village in recent years as more houses have been renovated, they have all been welcomed with open arms and have contributed to the village feel. She said: “We’ve got a village watch and WhatsApp group with everyone looking out for burglars or crashes and there’s a litter pick every two or three weeks.”

The residents have built flower beds and gardens at either entrance of Brampton-en-le-Morthen (Image: YorkshireLive)

As you enter each end of the village there is also a lovely flower bed that has been laid to welcome visitors, with one also hosting a war memorial.

Darille explained that the village often has visitors coming to enjoy the spectacles that they put on as well as take walks in the nearby countryside. She said she has plenty of fond memories of living there herself, saying: “We used to play on the streets and in the farms as kids and I’ve never got tired of Brampton. All of the families used to meet at the wall for a drink when the weather was warm.

I could write a book about my life here.” Malcolm joined us for a chat the front of the house with a glass of wine to enjoy in the sun – one of his favourite things to do – saying: “We’ve done the right thing by staying here.”

Les is one of Brampton-en-le-Morthen’s famous faces (Image: YorkshireLive)

Darille explained that the village was once home to seven different farmers but now only two remain, one of whom is dairy farmer Les, who supplies milk for his local neighbours and the Rising Deer. One of the village’s well known characters; asked if there was any weight to the possibility that Brampton-en-la-Morthen was Yorkshire’s oldest village, Les responded: “I don’t know about the oldest village but it’s definitely got the oldest people.”

While recent influxes of new faces has caused a bit of a rift in other villages in Yorkshire, Les said that the new blood has helped re-galvanise village life. He said: “It’s helped regenerate the village community. It’s helped stuff get going again.

“It’s always been that sort of place where everyone chips in – I used to organise a lot of stuff but we can’t do it forever.”

Andy Keeling (left) and Andrew Thickett live in some of Brampton-en-le-Morthen’s oldest buildings (Image: YorkshireLive)

As Les was short for time due to filling up his milk truck, we went to speak to another recommended village figure, Andrew Thickett, who took time out of fixing an old plough to give us a fascinating insight into the village’s history. The 71-year-old, whose father and grandfather also lived in the village, explained that much of the village was now owned by the Sitwell Estate after changing hands from Cavendish but its historical roots go much deeper. The oldest building in use, which Andrew himself lives in, is an old Tudor home dating back to 1550 where the timber-framed front is still on display.

There is also an old plaque on the front of one of the houses that dates to the Cromwellian area when he claimed ownership of the land. It’s believed that the building had at one point housed the “hanging man” John Bradshaw, who was the chief judge in the trial of Charles I and the man who pronounced the death sentence on the king.

Brampton-en-le-Morthen’s oldest buildings, which date back to around 1550 (Image: YorkshireLive)

Along the same stretch of the Tudor houses sits an old chapel from the 1600s, which has now been converted into a beautiful home belonging to Andrew’s brother-in-law Andy Keeling, that still has remnants of its history in the form of windows, timber beams and the fire place. Andrew also showed us the wooden foundations of what is believed to have been a building dating back to the Saxon period of around 950 at the back of his house.

He also told us how in recent years an old Roman coin was found in a nearby field dating back to 350 AD, saying: “It were a little smasher!” Adding how the village had also been near to a quarry in more recent times, Andrew said: “It’s got a fantastic history and it’s a lovely little village. There’s been some bad times in the past but now everything’s coming closer together.

All of us that were born in the village have always stayed close.”