FEW places of comparative size to Brancepeth possess as much history as this small village four miles south-east of Durham.

Despite recent small-scale housing developments, Brancepeth is still a small village by Durham standards, and its neat old-world charm is partly due to the fact that Brancepeth was never a colliery village. It will therefore come as a surprise to learn that there were three Brancepeth Collieries.

Brancepeth Colliery was two miles south-east of the village, near Willington, where the miners lived.

Strakers and Love, who also owned Brandon Colliery, opened this colliery, and it operated from 1840 until 1967.

Then there was South Brancepeth Colliery, owned by Bell Brothers and later by Dorman Long. It operated from 1855 to 1931 and was otherwise known as Page Bank Colliery.

This was a more accurate description of its location, two miles south of Brancepeth.

Finally there was New Brancepeth Colliery, two-and-ahalf-miles to the north of Brancepeth, in the Deerness Valley.

THE use of Brancepeth in these names is not altogether unjustified, because all were built on land that formed part of the vast estate of Brancepeth Castle.

Coal-owners leased land from the castle's illustrious owners, and the castle ultimately profited from the extensive coal-mining of the district.

However, Brancepeth was of great importance long before the coal-mining era.

Early spellings of the name suggest that in pre-Norman times, Brancepeth belonged to someone called Brand, who perhaps owned the Roman Road, or peth, linking Brancepeth with Brandon.

Other theories suggest Brancepeth means road to Brandon, or the path frequented by the brawn (a ferocious wild boar).

According to legend, a man from Ferryhill called Hodge eventually captured this beast by luring it into a pit. However, Robert Surtees, the 19th Century Durham historian, may have invented the legend.

IFBrand was Brancepeth's earliest owner, nothing is known of him.

By the 1100s, Brancepeth belonged to a prominent local family of Anglo-Saxon origin called Bulmer.

The Bulmers somehow managed to hold on to Brancepeth after the Norman Conquest, along with land they held at Sheriff Hutton, near York, where they were the Sheriffs of the name.

A church already existed at Brancepeth in Anglo-Saxon times, and the first known rector was a Durham monk called Haeming, mentioned in 1085.

The dedication of the church to St Brandon is an unusual and interesting choice, being one of only two dedicated to this saint in the country.

Also known as St Brendan the Voyager, the saint made visits to Britain, and it is tempting to think he may have gone to Brancepeth.

It is likely that there was a prominent manor house, possibly fortified, belonging to the Bulmer family at Brancepeth in early times.

In 1166, Bertram, the last male heir of the Brancepeth Bulmers, died and the property passed to his daughter, Emma.

It was through her marriage to Geoffrey Neville that Brancepeth began its four centuries of association with the Neville family.

Geoffrey Neville was from a family of Norman origin, being himself the grandson of William the Conqueror's Admiral of the Fleet.

The Nevilles adopted the bull's head as their family emblem in recognition of their Anglo-Saxon Bulmer blood.

The Brancepeth Nevilles later acquired Raby Castle, in south Durham, through a subsequent intermarriage with the Fitzmaldred family, but Brancepeth was still of primary importance.

From 1397, the leading Nevilles became the Earls of Westmorland, although their land was concentrated in Durham and Yorkshire.

The first earl was largely responsible for building Brancepeth Castle, although only a little of his work remains today.

Brancepeth was a great military stronghold, which was swarming with soldiers and always stronger, defensively, than Raby.

Its solid walls reflect the major role the Nevilles played in defending the North.

FAMOUSLY, the Nevilles fought and defeated the Scots at Nevilles Cross, near Durham, in 1346, and they were one of the most powerful families in England during the Middle Ages.

Always well-prepared for battle in Scotland, England or France, their retinue at Agincourt in 1415 included 30 horses and 80 archers from Brancepeth.

Only the Percys of Alnwick, in Northumberland, could match the Nevilles in the North.

Ironically, it was an allegiance of the two families that brought about their downfall.

In 1569, the Percys and Nevilles colluded in a Northern catholic rising.

This was the Rising of the North, an attempt to restore catholicism and release the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots in defiance of Queen Elizabeth I.

A great military assemblage gathered at Brancepeth.

Wordsworth commemorated the event 200 years later in part of his lengthy poem The White Doe of Rylstone.

From every side came noisy swarms

Of peasants in their homely gear;

And mixed with these to Brancepeth came

Grave gentry of estate and name

And captains known for worth in arms

And prayed the earls in selfdefence

To rise and prove their innocence.

The rebel leaders were disappointed by their level of support, despite amassing 4,000 soldiers and 600 horses.

Walter Devereux, the Earl of Essex, had raised a much larger force against the rebels at York.

The rebels were quickly disheartened and fled north to Scotland without battle.

The Earl of Westmorland escaped to Flanders to avoid punishment, and lived there until his death. It was safer to be abroad.

Rebels were executed in every town and village from Wetherby to Newcastle. Sixtysix were hanged at Durham alone.

Brancepeth Castle was lost to the Nevilles forever, and seized by the Crown. As we shall discover in next week's Durham Memories, it would change hands on many more occasions to come.

If you have memories of Durham including old photos or stories of people and places you would like to share with The Northern Echo, write to David Simpson, Durham Memories, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF. E-mail David.Simpson@nne.co.uk or telephone (01325) 505098

Published: 12/12/2003