Bracknell Forest History
People have been living in the Bracknell Forest area since the Iron Age. Bill Hill is a Bronze Age barrow and Caesar's Camp, a hill fort, was built by the Celts well before the Romans invaded England.
The name of Bracknell - then called 'braccan heal' first appeared in an Anglo-Saxon document as a landmark on the boundary between Winkfield and Warfield. The meaning of the name is thought to be ' a piece of land belonging to Bracca on a projecting spur of the parish'.
In 1086 the Domesday-book first mentioned Easthampstead meaning 'the homestead by the gate'. All of this part of Berkshire was the Royal Forest of Windsor and the gate allowed deer to move to another area. By 1535 it was called Estehampstead
Old Bracknell is mentioned in a Goring charter of 1463 and on Norden's map of 1607 there are two nearby places Old and New Bracknell.
In 1759 a new road from Virginia Water through Priestwood Common to Reading was constructed, now called the A329.
By 1847 Bracknell was 'a small village situated on the main road to the west of England'. The railway came in 1856 and a market started in 1870 which was held where Bracknell and Wokingham College is now.
In 1948 it was decided that Bracknell would become a New Town with a population of 25,000. It was to be ‘a self-contained country town combining the amenities of town life with the advantages of the country'.
Residents moved into Priestwood, the first neighbourhood, in 1951.
Bracknell Forest was formed in 1974 and became a Unitary Authority in 1998.
By 2006 the population of Bracknell Forest had reached 112,200.
Visit: www.berkshirehistory.com/villages/bracknell.html for more historical information
We are grateful to Ruth Timbrell for her photographs and the information she has shared with us.
Andrew Radgick, Historical Representative for The Bracknell Forest Society, has answered several queries sent in about local history. More about this later.
Click here for a list of Publications featuring local areas compiled by Andrew Radgick and Wendy Raeside.
The celebrated poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, was a resident of Bracknell around 1813. During the period of his rocky first marriage, he took a fancy to a certain Cornelia Turner and moved to Bracknell to be near her. They studied the Italian poets together, but how far their relationship otherwise went is unclear.
Richard Price of Crowthorne informs us that there are plans to clear and signpost the Devils Highway track which runs from the Look Out to Winchester and Salisbury. It is an ancient Anglo-Saxon route taken over by the Romans.
The boundaries of Caesar's Camp are in the shape of an oak leaf.
Wendy Raeside sent in these snippets of local history:
The now famous College in Crowthorne was designed as a living tribute to Wellington, to educate the orphans of soldiers who served in the Napoleonic Wars, however, civilian children were also welcome. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1859.
Crowthorne's oldest pub, The Iron Duke, closed to customers in May 2009 when a development company bought it.
Crowthorne celebrated being one of the first places in the country to have a Scout Pack by giving a plaque pride of place in the High Street earlier this year. Just two years after Lord Baden-Powell started the Scouting Movement, Crowthorne began a pack in 1909.
Richard Walton reports that in the early 20th century South Hill Park Mansion had a large lake in front of it. During this time, The Royal Sea Bathing Hospital, having been evacuated from Margate, occupied the Mansion.
In the 1920s the pupils at St George's School in Ascot used to come on school visits to see the brickworks in Bracknell!
The top of the Cabbage Hill road near Binfield was removed as it was thought to be too steep for safety.
Ranelagh School was inaugurated 300 years ago and it is 100 years since it was located in Bracknell.
There were many brick yards in Bracknell. Bracknell Bricks have been used in the building of many famous places: 10 Downing Street, Eton College, Harrow School, Windsor Castle, Madame Tussauds, Royal Holloway College, Hampton Court, Westminster Cathedral and, locally, South Hill Park.
Historical Snippets contributed by Robin Seward, our former Historian
The recent heavy snow brought down a cedar tree near the Warfield Road. A count of the rings indicated it was about 110 years old and part of the estate of the near-by 'Georgian' Cedar House.
The melting of the snow in fields around Warfield Church and at Priory Field, Harvest Ride, showed the locations of old 'farming strips'. The flints used to divide the strips and to make a path alongside were the last areas to melt.
To the north of Bracknell Town, in the Quelm Park area, there were many apple orchards. Due to an infestation of caterpillars, chickens were put in the orchards to eat them. Bracknell had the third largest egg auction in the country to sell all the eggs!
Residents with money planted damson trees around their orchards. It showed they had staff to cook the damsons as you could not eat them raw! There is now information about this area on the Larks Hill noticeboard.
Sperry Gyroscope was the area's major employer in the 1960s. The company commissioned a 4.5 metre tall sculpture which was created by Phillip Bentham in 1967 and cast by the world famous Morris Singer foundry at Basingstoke. It is now on the 'Sperry Roundabout' on the Wokingham Road
Priory Lane and Old Priory Lane, in Warfield/North Bracknell was once a Roman Road (From the settlement at Coxes Green).
There was an old Roman "loom weight" found just off Priory Lane in the 1930’s.
Mill Lane, in Bracknell, was part of this old Roman Road.
The Priory, at the junction of Priory Lane, was a "Holiday Priory/Kitchen Garden", for the Home Benedictine Priory, near the Tyburn in London. This was the place where Londoners were hung!
There is now a French Priory, near to the old London Tyburn site, which has a replica gallows in the Chapel – prayers are still said for the "Departed".
The old "Georgian Butchers" to the rear of "The Three Legged Cross" was situated there as the Drovers had to pass over the nearby "Battle" Bridge – any lame animals were sold to the Butcher.
The pond opposite the Priory, in Old Priory Lane was a Drovers Pond (for the cattle to drink from).
The large field next to this Pond was called "Half-Penny Lea" – ½ an old penny, paid for every single cattle "overnighting" there.
The Drovers used to "bed down", on straw, in the building just behind the nearby old "Horseshoes" Pub (now a house, which has a "Priest Hole" in it).
Priory Field, Harvest Ride, showed the locations of old 'farming strips'. The flints used to divide the strips and to make a path alongside were the last areas to melt.
To the north of Bracknell Town, in the Quelm Park area, there were many apple orchards. Due to an infestation of caterpillars, chickens were put in the orchards to eat them. Bracknell had the third largest egg auction in the country to sell all the eggs!
Residents with money planted damson trees around their orchards. It showed they had staff to cook the damsons as you could not eat them raw! There is now information about this area on the Larks Hill noticeboard.
Sperry Gyroscope was the area's major employer in the 1960s. The company commissioned a 4.5 metre tall sculpture which was created by Phillip Bentham in 1967 and cast by the world famous Morris Singer foundry at Basingstoke. It is now on the 'Sperry Roundabout' on the Wokingham Road
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church was started in Bracknell in 1894 in 'a tin hut' where the British Legion is now. The present church was designed in 1956 by a famous architect, Anthony Sargeant and was opened in 1962. He was influenced by a visit to Scandinavia. The roof tiles were made in Bracknell.
Priory Lane and Old Priory Lane, in Warfield/North Bracknell was once a Roman Road (From the settlement at Coxes Green).
There was an old Roman "loom weight" found just off Priory Lane in the 1930’s.
Mill Lane, in Bracknell, was part of this old Roman Road.
The Priory, at the junction of Priory Lane, was a "Holiday Priory/Kitchen Garden", for the Home Benedictine Priory, near the Tyburn in London. This was the place where Londoners were hung!
There is now a French Priory, near to the old London Tyburn site, which has a replica gallows in the Chapel – prayers are still said for the "Departed".
The old "Georgian Butchers" to the rear of "The Three Legged Cross" was situated there as the Drovers had to pass over the nearby "Battle" Bridge – any lame animals were sold to the Butcher.
The pond opposite the Priory, in Old Priory Lane was a Drovers Pond (for the cattle to drink from).
The large field next to this Pond was called "Half-Penny Lea" – ½ an old penny, paid for every single cattle "overnighting" there.
The Drovers used to "bed down", on straw, in the building just behind the nearby old "Horseshoes" Pub (now a house, which has a "Priest Hole" in it).
Click here for information on Priory Field
Lily Hill House
Wellington College 
