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BRAMSHILL
Bramshill is a tiny village in north-east Hampshire. It is bordered by the Rivers Whitewater, Blackwater and Hart and by the villages of Farley Hill, Eversley, Hazely Heath, Heckfield, Riseley and Swallowfield.
The population of Bramshill is around 100, but at the south end of the village Bramshill House is a Police College which has a transient population of its own.
Historically, Bramshill was an estate owned by the Lord of the Manor, residing at Bramshill House. The last incumbent was Lord Brockett, who sold the estate in 1952 to pay for death duties incurred on the death of his son.
Until the sale of the estate, residents of Bramshill rented their houses very cheaply, the landlord being responsible for all repairs.
My Aunt Polly was such a tenant.
Aunt Polly (Mary Agnes) Sumner had lived at what is now called Yew Tree Cottage since 1892, when her family moved there from the Heckfield area. Yew Tree Cottage is on the road leading north to the ford giving access to Farley Hill. The house lies on a bend in the road and is to the east of Springwater Farm. Until 1979, when the present owners (John and Judith Penneceard) bought the property, Yew Tree Cottage was a small, two-bedroom house. When the Sumners moved there in 1892, there would have been quite a few people sharing the accommodation. Although at no time did all the members of the family reside there together, in addition to Philip Sumner (Polly's father - Caroline, his wife had died giving birth to Polly's youngest sibling) there were nine Sumner children:
John (raised by his grandmother)
Dave
Tom
Kate
Rose (my grandmother)
Polly
Mabel
Percy
Carrie
Another child had been run over and killed by a traction engine in Hazeley Lea in 1877.
The picture shows Yew Tree Cottage in 1998. The original house has been added on to considerably by the current owners, John and Judith Penniceard.
Bramshill Church is located on the north side of the Eversley to Heckfield road and is rather hidden in the woods . It is situated between Pond Cottage and Bailey's Farm. The present building dates back to 1919, at which time the Cope family (then living at Bramshill House) gave land in perpetuity to the Diocese of Winchester for the purpose of building a church. the building was paid for by local donations, organised by Polly and her friends. Previously, there had been a schoolhouse and a house on the site.
Bramshill has never enjoyed the services of its own minister, but has relied on mainly Rectors of Eversley (for a while the Vicar of Heckfield officiated) to conduct services.
My great-grandfather, Philip Sumner, was the equivalent of today's agricultural contractor. He undertook many different kinds of work, including hedging and ditching and cutting pea and bean sticks. He had a dog called Pincher.
In 1921, the whole of Bramshill Forest was destroyed by a fire which began at the St.Neot's end of the forest, ignited by a spark from a traction engine.
After my great-grandfather died in 1922, Polly Sumner lived by herself at Yew Tree Cottage until 1952, when the whole village of Bramshill was put up for sale. Prospective buyers were able to place bids prior to the auction. My father, Léon Bournon, and my mother bought Yew Tree Cottage in this way.
My great-aunt, Polly Sumner, continued to live at Yew Tree Cottage after our family moved in (September 1952). I was born in December 1952 and brought home from Battle Hospital, Reading to Yew Tree Cottage. In addition to my parents and I there was my older brother, Courtenay (now living in southern Ontario), our dog Pip and our cat Orlando. Aunty Polly occupied, as a bed-sitting room, one room on the ground floor, and a kitchen. My mother had her own kitchen, which had formerly been Aunty's larder.
Some of the families living in Bramshill in the 1950s were:
The Paynes (Les, Hilda, Carol and Graham) - Ford Cottage, Springwater Cottage, The Flat at Hall's Farm
The Perrotts (Stanford, Fred and their housekeeper, Annie New) - Springwater Farm
The Handleys (Tommy, Patricia, William and Edward) - Hall's Farm
The Williams (Naylor, Sonner, Dimpsy and family) - The Hatch Gate Public House
The Cracknells (Sam and Nell) - Council House #6
The Laws - (what is now Bramshill Cottage)
The Harrises (Council House#1)
The Harrises (Council House#2)
The Purcegos (Council House# )
Frank Bushnell (Council House#5)
Betty Chapman (Keeper's Cottage)
General and Mrs. Lucas (Wellhouse)
The James family (Cordery's Farm)
A 'French' artist, whose name escapes me, - Ford Cottage
The Stoats - Wellhouse Farm ....................continued on Bramshill2
bramshill contd
breadline shoes
the reunion
David's Poems
Eversley
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