Braishfield

Braishfield is a village and civil parish north of Romsey in Hampshire, England. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English bræsc + feld, meaning 'open land with small branches or brushwood'.[3] The hamlet of Pucknall lies due east of the village.

Braishfield
Braishfield
Location within Hampshire
Population643 [1]
684 (2011 Census)[2]
OS grid referenceSU3725
Civil parish
  • Braishfield
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townRomsey
Postcode districtSO51
Dialling code01794
PoliceHampshire
FireHampshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament
  • Romsey and Southampton North

Geology

The parish lies on the northern edge of the Hampshire Basin, with chalk in the north. To the south and east of the village this is overlain by Palaeocene sands and clays of the Lambeth Group. At the southern edge the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens are on younger deposits of Eocene age, sloping from a ridge of the Nursling sands into a valley of London Clay.[4]

History

Archaeological discoveries in Braishfield include the remains of some of the oldest dwellings to be found in Great Britain and the first Neolithic dwelling site of any kind to be discovered in Hampshire.[5]

Higgins James Bown of Laurel Cottage, was the village wheelwright, carpenter, chairmaker and undertaker. H.J. Bown died in July 1954 aged 88 years. His woodworking tools were donated to the Museum of English Rural Life.[6]

Places of interest

The Church of England parish church of All Saints was built in 1855.

Transport

The Village has neither main roads nor railways, but is crossed by the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath.

Sport

Braishfield has a long running football club, who play their home games at the Recreation Ground. Founded in 1907, Braishfield football club run two adult sides in the Southampton League, a 1st team [7] and a reserve team. They also have six boys teams at various age groups in the Test Way Youth League known as the Braishfield bees. There is also a village cricket club.

Local folklore and legend

Braishfield is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a miserly Edwardian lady, who has been seen searching the village for the fortune she buried shortly before her death.[8][9]

Media appearances

Much of the 1979-1981 television series Worzel Gummidge was filmed in and around Braishfield.[10]

Twin towns

Braishfield is twinned with:

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References
  1. "Parish Headcounts, Area: Braishfield CP". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  3. Mills, A.D: A Dictionary of English Place-Names, page 47. Oxford University Press, 1991.
  4. British Geological Survey, 2002, England & Wales Sheet 299: Winchester, 1:50,000 Geology Series, Keyworth, Nottingham:British Geological Survey, ISBN 0-7518-3340-1
  5. "Braishfield - Archaeological Sites and Remains". Hampshire Treasures: Vol 9 (Test Valley South),P17. Hampshire County Council. Archived from the original on 12 March 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  6. "Higgins James Bown (wood worker)". Bown. Museum of English Rural Life. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  7. "PRE-SEASON UPDATE - News - BRAISHFIELD FOOTBALL CLUB". www.pitchero.com. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  8. Scanlan, David (2009). Paranormal Hampshire. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1848682573.
  9. Matthews, Rupert. "Para-News: The Miser of Braishfield". Para-News.com. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  10. https://www.testvalley.gov.uk/communityandleisure/tourism/film
  11. "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
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