The "Windsor of the North", left a ruin, used for secret tank work in the war, and now a courtyard of makers with a café. Free to walk in. Here is where to park and what you'll find.
A mile south of Penrith
Yes. Entry to Brougham Hall is free. The hall relies on donations to pay for the restoration, and there is a sign at the entrance with a suggested amount and a QR code. Inside the walls is a courtyard of makers' workshops, two distilleries and the Hideaway Café.
We went in on Sunday 18 October 2026, halfway round our Eamont Bridge circular walk, and it was the place we lingered longest. It is a mile south of Penrith, just off the A6, and a short walk from Brougham Castle.
The one thing to know before you arrive
The public car park is at the back. Turn right into the housing estate by the hall and go round the back to ///chart.bypasses.organs. It takes about ten cars.
If the car park is full, you can start from the henges at Eamont Bridge and walk in. That is the start of our circular walk.
The parking at the front is for staff. It looks like the obvious place to pull in, but it isn't the public car park.
Tea and cake
The Hideaway Café is run by Kerry and Ben. Known for: homemade scones and cakes, soups, sandwiches and daily specials, according to the hall's website. There are picnic benches out in the courtyard under big umbrellas, and seating indoors.
Round the courtyard
The old ranges round the courtyard are workshops and studios now. These are the ones we photographed on our visit. The hall's website has its full list of makers.
Black Cat Distillery. Known for: small-batch gin, and a gin school where you make your own bottle.
Langholm Distillery. Known for: brandy, and guided tours of its cellars.
Interlude Ceramics. Known for: wheel-thrown stoneware in colours taken from the Lakeland seasons, and pottery classes.
Ellen Pogson Ceramics. Known for: ceramics.
Grace Forge. Known for: metalwork inspired by the natural world, and blacksmithing courses.
Stuart Short. Known for: fine art and sculpture exploring geometry, texture and light.
The hall also runs events through the year. Its events page has listed a 1940s War Weekend with military vehicles, outdoor theatre and a brass weekend. Check it for what's on.
From ruin to workshops
Wikipedia says the oldest part of the hall is the 13th-century gateway, followed by the Tudor hall of around 1480 to 1520. In the 1650s Lady Anne Clifford, who also restored Brougham Castle, bought into the estate and rebuilt the chapel, St Wilfrid's.
The hall is best known as the home of Henry Brougham, who became Lord Chancellor in 1830. The hall's own timeline credits him with inventing the Brougham carriage in 1837. Wikipedia says the house was extended and enlarged between 1830 and 1847.
In Victorian times its royal visits earned it the nickname "the Windsor of the North". The hall's timeline lists visits by the Prince of Wales in 1857 and 1894, and in 1905 he came back as King Edward VII.
The Brougham family sold the hall in 1934. Wikipedia says it was sold again for demolition, and the hall's website says it was left abandoned and roofless.
From 1941 to 1945, says Wikipedia, there was a secret tank development facility at Brougham Hall, working on the Canal Defence Light. A plaque at the hall remembers the men who worked there.
According to the hall, Christopher Terry bought it in 1985 and restoration began the following year, turning it over to artisans and artists. Since December 2024 it has been owned by the Brougham Hall CIC, which the hall describes as six creative people with businesses there. The hall is Grade II* listed.
Look for it on the way in
An engraved stone at the arch records two journeys. The first: at 11:00 a.m. on 15 October 1905, King Edward VII set off through the arch to Lowther Castle on what the stone calls the first motor ride in the north of England by a British monarch.
The second: in December 1942, Winston Churchill drove through the same arch to inspect the Canal Defence Light tanks.
The Lowther Castle in question is a few miles south. Our Lowther Castle guide covers the ruins and gardens.
Kings were meeting near here long before Edward VII's motor ride. In 927 the rulers of the north and of Wales met King Athelstan at Eamont, the meeting generally seen as the founding of England, and in July 2027 the hall is due to host the Court of Athelstan for its 1,100th anniversary. The story is on Eamont Bridge and the birth of England.
The honest verdict
Yes, and it costs nothing to get in. We had a coffee in the courtyard and a look round the makers, and the engraved stone at the arch is worth stopping for. Leave a donation if you enjoyed it.
Park round the back, not at the front. If you have a couple of hours, walk it as part of our Eamont Bridge circular with the castle and the two henges.
Good to know
Keep exploring
The English Heritage castle on the River Eamont, a short walk away.
The 4.6-mile circular with the hall, the castle and two henges.
Where Edward VII was driving to in 1905: ruins and gardens.
Things to do in the town, where to eat and where to stay.