The Church
There has been a church at Brampton since the time of the Domesday Book, however the current church was mostly built in the 15th century and restored in 1877.
The highlight of the church are the misericords in the 14th century choir stalls. These include carving of rural activities including reaping and sheep shearing. The East window is by Kempe & Co and shows saints including Hugh the Bishop of Lincoln who built Buckden Palace a few miles away from Brampton.
There is also a monument to the sister of Samuel Pepys, whose family lived at nearby Hinchinbrooke.
St Mary Magdalene holds four services a month, there is an active bell ringing group and the church supports the local Mothers' Union, Youth Café, Junior Church and a toddler group.
Our Work
The church has a large colony of Pipistrelle bats which roost throughout the church, but especially directly over the chancel arch. This obviously causes huge disruption in the church and can severely affect services.
Bernwood Ecology carried out a full set of surveys in summer 2021 and came up with a range of mitigation options. Working with the church, Arch Angel Architects and Tensile Fabric Ltd we have now designed and installed two bespoke 'sails' underneath the roost about the chancel arch. The sails can be lowered to ground level for cleaning and will hopefully significantly reduce the bat droppings in this area.
You can see the sails in operation in this short video
There is more detailed information in our case studies and fact sheets
Brampton Case Study Poster
Brampton Two Page Case Study Narrative
Brampton Sails Architects Plans
Brampton Fact Sheet
Brampton Bat Management Plan 2021
Upcoming events
If you’d like to contact or find out more about the church, visit their page on A Church Near You