Lizzie Baty’s Tea Set

When Lizzie Baty died in 1817, she left behind something rather more tangible than the stories that had grown around her: a china tea set.

Shortly before her death, Lizzie was said to have given the tea set to a local friend. But this was supposedly no ordinary gift. The tradition held that members of the family who drank from the cups would enjoy good luck. If the tea set ever passed out of the family, however, its new owner would suffer misfortune.

We understand that the family took the warning seriously enough for the china to be handed down through the generations. In 2010, almost two centuries after Lizzie’s death, the tea set was reported to be still intact and in the care of descendants of the family to whom she had given it.

One family story gives the superstition an extraordinary twentieth-century twist. When war was declared in 1939, a young member of the family was among the first groups of men called up. Before he left, his mother insisted that he visit a relative in Brampton and drink tea from Lizzie’s china for good luck. He survived the war and returned home, later recalling occasions when he moved from a spot shortly before a shell landed where he had been standing.

A china tea set passed from one generation to the next might ordinarily be little more than a treasured family heirloom. But when that tea set once belonged to Lizzie Baty, even something as familiar as a cup of tea comes with a story. And, it seems, nobody has been particularly keen to test what might happen if the china ever leaves the family.

Source: Brampton Parishioners. Folklore.
Images: AI/Canva. These images have been created simply to help bring the stories to life. They're just a bit of fun and are not intended to be historically accurate.

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Lizzie Baty and the “Witched Hare”

A curious tale about Lizzie Baty was already being told publicly by 1886. It concerned a man who was behaving in a way that nobody around him could explain. He would get out of bed, make what were described as “unearthly cries” and, most extraordinary of all, was said to run along the ceiling and rafters of the house. Several men tried to keep him in bed, but even together they were unable to restrain him.

With no apparent way of controlling his extraordinary behaviour, Lizzie Baty was approached for help. She told the men to go to a particular place where they would find a hare. They were to shoot the animal and, if they succeeded, the troubled man would recover.

The men followed Lizzie’s directions and went to the place she had described. Sure enough, a hare appeared. But despite their attempts to shoot it, they simply could not. The animal was described in the old telling of the tale as a “witched hare”.

The appearance of a hare is particularly intriguing because the animal features elsewhere in the folklore surrounding Lizzie. Among the supernatural abilities attributed to her was the power to change her own form and become a hare, part of a much older association between hares and witchcraft in British folklore. These accounts belong to local folklore rather than established historical fact.

The ending of the story has been lost. We are not told what became of the hare or whether the troubled man recovered. What survived was the remarkable part: Lizzie had told the men where to find the hare, it appeared where she said it would, and no matter how they tried, they could not shoot it.

Source: Brampton Parishioners
Images: AI/Canva. These images have been created simply to help bring the stories to life. They're just a bit of fun and are not intended to be historically accurate.

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“You’ll Get a White Dress Soon Enough”

Another of the many tales surrounding Lizzie Baty concerns a young woman whose wedding day was fast approaching, and a few seemingly innocent words that would later prove chillingly prophetic. The woman was soon to be married when Lizzie told her, “You’ll get a white dress soon enough.” To a bride-to-be, there was little reason to hear anything sinister in those words. A white dress belonged to the wedding that lay ahead.

But the marriage never took place. The young woman apparently died before her wedding day, and the white dress Lizzie had spoken of was said to have been her funeral gown. Words that might once have sounded perfectly innocent had suddenly taken on an altogether darker meaning. In the telling of the story, Lizzie had seemingly foretold not a wedding, but the young woman’s death.

Perhaps that is why such a short tale proved so enduring. There was nothing dramatic about Lizzie’s supposed prediction when the words were spoken. Their significance came afterwards, when events appeared to give them a meaning nobody could have anticipated. It became another part of the folklore surrounding Lizzie and her apparent ability to know what lay ahead.

More than two centuries later, the simplicity of those words is what makes them so unsettling: “You’ll get a white dress soon enough.”

Source: Brampton Parishioners.
Images: AI/Canva. These images have been created simply to help bring the stories to life. They're just a bit of fun and are not intended to be historically accurate.

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Lizzie Baty’s Warning

One of the more unsettling stories about Lizzie Baty begins with two young women from Hembles Gate, a former farm on Tarn Road, and an unfortunate encounter with a lamb.

The women were making their way home when they came across Lizzie. During the encounter, the lamb knocked Lizzie over, much to the amusement of the two women. Lizzie saw little humour in what had happened and prophesied that they would have “laughing and dancing enough after this.”

Before long, those words would take on a much darker meaning. When the women reached Hembles Gate, their strange behaviour startled the household. They were described as being in an almost maniacal state, and whatever had overtaken them did not quickly subside. It continued for several days.

There are different versions of how the episode finally came to an end. In one, gifts were taken to Lizzie and the women recovered. Another tells a considerably darker story. The lamb that had knocked Lizzie over was killed and its heart removed. Pins were driven into the heart before it was roasted over the fire. Only then was the strange affliction said to have left the two women.

The tale of the lamb, the two women of Hembles Gate and Lizzie’s ominous prophecy endured: “Laughing and dancing enough after this.” Perhaps, in the end, nobody was laughing.

Source: Brampton Parishioners.
Images: AI/Canva. These images have been created simply to help bring the stories to life. They're just a bit of fun and are not intended to be historically accurate.

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How did Lizzie know?

Some of the tales surrounding Lizzie Baty were not about spells or curses, but about her apparent ability to know things that others could not explain.

One such story begins at Brampton market, where a woman discovered that her butter and a leg of mutton were missing. Convinced she knew who had taken them, she sought out Lizzie. But Lizzie told her she was accusing the wrong culprit. It was not a person at all, she said, but a dog. More remarkably, she told the woman exactly where to find the missing food: in a midden in the Brewery Field. The woman went to look and found the butter and mutton where Lizzie had said they would be.

Another story concerns a coal merchant. Lizzie had ordered a load of coal, but the merchant decided that another customer would get the better quality load. When his horse reached Lizzie’s cottage, however, it refused to go any farther. However much the coalman tried, the horse would not pass, and eventually he gave in and delivered the coal to Lizzie.

Lizzie’s response has survived as part of the tale: “If the horse hedn't mair sense than its maister, I wouldn't hae getten them!”

A dog, some missing butter and mutton, and a horse that seemingly knew exactly where a load of coal ought to be delivered. These stories became part of the folklore surrounding Lizzie and her reputation for knowing things she seemingly had no way of knowing.

Source: Brampton Parishioners.

Images: AI/Canva. These images have been created simply to help bring the stories to life. They're just a bit of fun on the run up to Halloween and are not intended to be historically accurate.

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Brampton’s own “witch” (1 of 8 posts)

With Halloween approaching, we’re delving into the story of one of the more mysterious characters from Brampton’s past, Lizzie Baty, the “Brampton Witch”.

Lizzie was a real woman who lived in and around Brampton more than 200 years ago. Somewhere between the woman herself and the stories passed down through generations, she became part of Brampton folklore.

In later life, Lizzie lived in a cottage at Craw Hall. She became known as a “wise woman” and was described as a “canny auld body”. People reportedly came from beyond Brampton to consult her, seeking advice, asking about their futures and turning to her for help finding missing possessions. She was also credited with “second sight”.

Imagine Brampton more than two centuries ago. With no electric, news and gossip travelled by word of mouth and tales of Lizzie’s strange abilities began to spread. Lost possessions were supposedly found where she said they would be. There were tales of predictions, spells and curses, a horse that refused to pass her cottage and even a mysterious hare. One young bride-to-be was reportedly given a particularly chilling prediction about the “white dress” in her future.

How much was fact and how much became embellished as the stories passed from one generation to another is impossible to know. What we do know is that Lizzie was real, she was remembered as a wise woman, and more than 200 years after her death, Brampton is still telling her stories.

Photos taken in St Martin’s Churchyard, where Lizzie was laid to rest. There was nobody among the gravestones when we took them. At least, nobody we could see.

Source: Brampton Parishioners

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Brampton, Cared for Through the Seasons.

Summer may be drawing to a close, but Brampton is still full of colour. As autumn begins to arrive, the seasons might change, but the care that goes into keeping our town looking welcoming continues throughout the year.

Flower beds, planters, trees, benches and small spaces like this can be found dotted around Brampton, cared for by Brampton Parish Council for everyone to enjoy. As one season's planting comes to an end, another takes its place, bringing different colours and character to our streets throughout the year.

These little corners are there to be enjoyed too. Pick up a coffee, something for lunch or a treat from one of our Brampton businesses, take a seat for a while and watch the town go by. Or make it part of a day exploring Brampton on foot, discovering our independent shops and cafés, our historic buildings and some of the quieter corners you might otherwise miss.

For those who fancy walking a little further, Brampton Parish Council's Ramblings Around Brampton offers six walks of varying lengths, taking you through the town and out into the surrounding countryside.

There is no need to wait for summer to discover Brampton. Autumn brings its own colours and atmosphere, our businesses remain open and there is still plenty to see, explore and enjoy. Come and discover our town in a different season.

Brampton Parish Council walks:
brampton-pc.gov.uk/local-walks-rights-of-way/
Discover Brampton:
www.discoverbrampton.co.uk
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Lest We Forget: 1746–2026

Today, 21 October 2026, marks the 280th anniversary of the execution of six Jacobite soldiers at Brampton’s historic Capon Tree. On this day in 1746, six men who had supported Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite cause were hanged following the defeat of the Jacobite rising. The memorial near the site ensures their story is not forgotten.

This morning, many gathered at the Capon Tree Memorial to remember those six men and reflect on a turbulent chapter of British history. The Jacobite cause brought together English and Scottish supporters, Catholics and Protestants alike, united by their loyalty to the Stuart cause.

Pupils from William Howard School sang the traditional Scottish song Loch Lomond, long associated with the Jacobite rising. Legend suggests its words were written by a captured Jacobite. Although its author remains unknown, the high road and low road are traditionally interpreted as the parting of two companions, one returning home alive and the other returning to Scotland in spirit.

The sound of the bagpipes accompanied the laying of wreaths by The Fifteen, The 1745 Association, the Royal British Legion Brampton Branch, Brampton Parish Council, pupils and Cadets from William Howard School and an officer from RAF Spadeadam. A representative of the Catholic Church and the Brampton Methodist minister led the prayers together in a fitting expression of unity and remembrance.

Also present was Radclyffe the deerhound, the Jacobite Society’s mascot, proudly wearing his purple coat and traditional white Jacobite cockade.

It was heartening to see so many people attend in remembering an event that connects Brampton with an important chapter of British history. Although 280 years have passed, the story of these six men remains part of our town’s heritage.

Today was about remembering lives lost, understanding our history and coming together in peace.

Lest we forget the six men of the Capon Tree.

www.discoverbrampton.co.uk