The house was built in 1806 by the Vicar of Bramham , the Rev. Robert Bownas. No less than a decade later they sold the house and grounds to James Fox of Bramham Park for £3000. The house was then gifted to his son, George Lane Fox, as a wedding present. George bought and moved to Bowcliffe Hall in 1841, and it remained in the family until his son “Squire” George sold it in 1856 as he began his successful campaign to retrieve the family fortunes lost by his father due to gambling debts. During the next 70 years, Bramham House had a succession of owners. John R. Gregson bought it initially from the Lane Foxes in 1856. It was then sold to a Captain Preston , who in turn sold the estate to Charles Stuart Robson J. P. around the turn of the century. The estate was sold to Major John Lister Ingham of Wighill in 1914, where it remained his residence until 1947.
Bramham House was purchased by the West Riding County Council Children’s Department in approximately 1947, in anticipation of the implementation of the 1948 Children’s and Young Persons Act. The Home was quite a show piece for the Department. The initial intention was for it to become a family group home to accommodate neglected and homeless children ‑ children from broken homes and experiencing ‘family problems and educational problems’ and those who had failed to respond to treatment for non‑school attendance within the community. The home remained in used by Leeds Social Service until its closure in the 1980’s.
