A Tale of Two Villages
A Perambulation of Church with Chapel Brampton

A Tale of Two Villages tells the story of the Bramptons, two villages in rural Northamptonshire, through the ages. Over eight years Jack Wagstaff collected data from archives, maps books and the anecdotes of local residents. The story is told as a walking guide - the Perambulation of the title - and, in Jack's own words, "provides an opportunity to survey the history locally from Early Man to the Day Before Yesterday."



"Delving into this fact-packed book is an eye-opening experience, whether or not you live in the Bramptons. How the whole ethos of rural life which has changed so dramatically in the last 50 years is captured within its pages, making fascinating reading and encouraging one to wander for oneself the sites described." - Chronicle & Echo



John ("Jack") Stephen Wagstaff was born in August 1914 in Essex. A conscientious objector during the Second World War, he worked on the land, and, with the National Farmers' Union, continued to do so after the War. He moved to the Northamptonshire village of Chapel Brampton in the late 1950s, where he lived for the rest of his life, serving on the local councils and the school board. He retired in 1979. He published A Tale of Two Villages himself in 1991. The first edition of the book sold more than 900 copies and raised more than 3,000 to help maintain the roof of the village church. Jack died in January 2001.

This second edition was published by his sons after the initial print run sold out. It includes several new photographs and a pamphlet Jack wrote in 1994 on the history of Weedon Barracks. Any proceeds will continue to support the Church Brampton church roof fund.