Bramshott

History

Bramshott Manor is described in the 1086 Domesday Book as held by Edward of Salisbury from the king with two freemen, thirteen tenants (of restricted freedom) and two mills. Ludshott Manor, lying to the north of Bramshott Manor, is recorded with ten households and a mill. Chiltlee Manor lay to the south of Bramshott Manor and was recorded as being held by the king, William the Conqueror, with four tenants and land for two ploughs, worth fifty three shillings (£2.65). These manors lay on the edge of the royal forest of Woolmer, with the origins of Liphook perhaps built as smallholdings to serve huntsmen.

The first evidence for Bramshott ecclesiastical parish is the record of Matthew as its first Rector in 1225 and the early 13th century church. The parish evolved from the medieval manors of Brembreste (Bramshott today), Lidessete (Ludshott), Ciltelelei (Chiltlee), the royal forest of Woolmer and fragments of two other manors.

The village grew until the 14th century but was checked by the Black Death. It seems some people escaped from the manors to Liphook to evade taxes of the Lord. Since the 16th century development of Bramshott has been intertwined with that of Liphook.

Part of the ancient parish of Bramshott used to be in the county of Sussex, comprising an irregularly shaped protrusion of that county's territory containing Holly Hills and Griggs Green. This reached as far north as the lake at Canforth Park Farm. In addition Bramshott had a small enclave within Sussex, comprising Croft House Farm near Folly Mere.

The parish in 1868 covered 6676 acre and included the then "considerable" village of Liphook and parts of Passfield and Grayshott, and was then in the Diocese of Winchester. A large proportion of the parish was described as "waste land".

In the 21st century, a detailed study was carried out for Hampshire County Council which identified and dated many of Bramshott's historical areas and buildings for further study.

Wartime Canadian forces

In the graveyard of the parish church of St Mary there are the graves of 348 servicemen, mostly Canadian soldiers who were stationed at nearby Bramshott Camp during the First World War, including many victims of the influenza pandemic of 1918-20, and some who were stationed there during the Second World War. The war graves are cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Alongside the A3 there is a memorial to the Canadian troops which comprises, according to the Imperial War Museum's dedication page:

Parish church

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade II* listed building, dating from the 13th century with later alterations. The parish is in the deanery of Petersfield and the Diocese of Portsmouth. Church records from 1560 to 2010 are held by Hampshire Archives and Local Studies. The church bells were a gift from the widow of actor Boris Karloff; he had spent some of his last years helping to raise funds for the church. The churchyard war memorial and several tombs are listed structures.

Local features

To the east of the village, Bramshott Chase and Bramshott Common is an area of National Trust woodland and heathland adjacent to the A3 London to Portsmouth Road; it is popular for walking and 20 acre is under the care of the Woodland Trust.

A large inn, originally named Seven Thorns Inn, later The Spaniard Inn, stood beside the A3 at Bramshott Chase. It was reputed to have been the haunt of a local highwayman and body snatchers. It had once been home to The Ravens nightclub, and a shed at the rear had been used by the fledgeling band Fleetwood Mac. After a fire in the 1990s the building was derelict for many years and was demolished in 2019, the plot subsequently being used for a local BMW dealership, Barons.

Notable people

Tudor statesman and churchman John Boxall (died 1571) came from Bramshott. 16th century priest Edmund Mervin held a living in Bramshott. Politician John Hooke had property in Bramshott where he died in 1685. Lawyer and politician William Erle (died 1880) lived in his country seat at Bramshott.

William Wolfe Capes (1715-1886) was made rector of Bramshott in 1869. Churchman Lloyd Crossley (died 1926) retired to Bramshott. Theosophist and writer Charles Webster Leadbeater (died 1934) lived for a time in Bramshott. The actor Boris Karloff, born William Henry Pratt in London, lived in retirement in Bramshott in a house named Roundabout until his death in 1969. Royal Navy officer Bertram Thesiger (died 1966) lived at Clerks in Bramshott.

References

References

1. Ordnance Survey
2. "Open Domesday: Bramshott".
3. "Open Domesday: Ludshott".
4. "Open Domesday: Chiltlee".
5. (2005). "The Origin and Growth of Liphook: 1. Before the Coaching Age". Liphook Community Magazine.
6. Book of Reference to the Plan of the Parish of Bramshott in Sussex, Ordnance Survey 1874
7. Ordnance Survey 6 inch sheet XLIV surveyed 1870
8. (1868). "The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland".
9. "Hants CC: Rural Settlement Publication: Bramshott".
10. "Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Bramshott (St Mary) Churchyard".
11. "Imperial War Museum: Canadian Servicemen Avenue Of Trees WW1 And WW2".
12. {{NHLE
13. "Diocese of Portsmouth: St Mary the Virgin, GU30 7SQ".
14. "National Archives: Bramshott Parish".
15. (22 December 2015). "Bramshott bell ringers poised to end two-and-a-half year strike". BBC News.
16. (8 October 2012). "Boris Karloff's daughter visits Bramshott to help church". BBC News.
17. "British Listed Buildings: Bramshott and Liphook".
18. "Woodland Trust: Bramshott Chase".
19. Daniel Blank & David Bradshaw. (17 January 2022). "The abandoned nightclub next to A3 on Surrey border that sat empty for decades". SurreyLive.
20. (3 February 2016). "Spaniard Inn sold with a million pound price tag". Haslemere Herald.
21. (9 May 2019). "Spaniard Inn building is demolished". Farnham Herald.
22. [https://www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp142-170 Bludworth-Brakell Pages 142-170 Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714]
23. "The history of Surrey", Part 2, Vol I Brayley, E.W. p262: Dorking; Robert Best Ede; 1841
24. [http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/hooke-john-1605-85 History of Parliament Online - Hooke, John]
25. (1911). "Erle, Sir William". Cambridge University Press.
26. "Capes, William Wolfe".
27. [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/StAndrewsMajor/ Parish details]
28. 1881 Census of England
29. (7 October 2012). "Boris Karloff's daughter visits Bramshott to help church". [[BBC News]].
30. [http://www.liphookscouts.org.uk/inform/thesiger/ Liphook Scouts] {{webarchive. link. (1 July 2009)