Bratton, Wiltshire

Bratton
War memorial, Bratton
Bratton  Bratton shown within Wiltshire
Population	1,248 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid reference	ST914523
Unitary authority	Wiltshire
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WESTBURY
Postcode district	BA13
Dialling code	01380
Police	Wiltshire
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	South West Wiltshire
Website	Village
List of places UK England Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°16′12″N 2°07′26″W / 51.270°N 2.124°W / 51.270; -2.124

Bratton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, about 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Westbury. The village lies under the northern slope of Salisbury Plain, on the B3098 Westbury – Market Lavington road.

History

The massive earthworks of the Iron Age hill fort known as Bratton Castle (or Bratton Camp) are within the parish.^[2]

Bratton was a tithing of the ancient parish of Westbury until 1894, when it became a separate civil parish.^[3]

The Stert and Westbury Railway was built across the parish in 1900. The local station was in the adjacent parish of Edington and was called Edington & Bratton; the station closed to passengers in 1952 and to goods in 1963, but the line remains open as part of the Reading to Taunton Line.

Religious sites

The Church of England parish church of St James has 14th-century origins and may be on the site of an earlier church. It was rebuilt in the 15th century; the chancel was rebuilt in 1854 by G.G. Scott, with further restoration by T.H. Wyatt in 1860.^[4] The church is Grade II* listed.^[5]

A Baptist chapel was built in 1734, enlarged in the 1780s and again in the next century, with the addition of a schoolroom. Pevsner describes the chapel as "externally a gem"^[6] and it is Grade II* listed.^[7] As of 2016 the chapel is still in use.^[8]

A Methodist chapel was built in 1870 and closed in 1952; the building was demolished in 1957.^[9]

Schools

A National School was built at Bratton in 1846 and enlarged in 1877.^[10] Also around 1846, a British School was established.^[11] In 1928 both schools closed and their pupils moved to a newly-built council school, which became Bratton Primary School and was extended in 1982.^[12]

Landmarks

In the village

• A commemorative plaque, complete with industrial cog and brick wall, unveiled in 1993 for the R & J Reeves & Sons Iron Works.^[13]
• A war memorial in the form of a step-based wheel cross.^[14]

On Westbury Hill

• The Battle of Ethandun Memorial – a large sarsen stone summounting a base of cemented pebbles, unveiled in 2000.^[15]
• The Queen Elizabeth II golden jubilee beacon placed in 2002.^[16]
• A topograph dating from 1968, showing towns and cities which can be seen from the hillside.^[17]
• Westbury White Horse – hill figure
• Bratton Castle – Iron Age hillfort

Roughly a mile west of Bratton is a former Lafarge Cement factory, which was reduced to a distribution site in 2009.^[18] The factory had a 400 feet (120 m) tall chimney, which was demolished in September 2016.^[19]

Notable buildings

The Court House (15th and 17th centuries)^[20] and Bratton House (1715 and 1826)^[21] are Grade II* listed.

Amenities

The village has a Post Office and village shop, a village hall and a pub, The Duke.

Bratton Downs is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Notable residents

• Rev. George Whitaker (1811–1882), clergyman and educator
• Sir Horace Seymour (1885–1978), British diplomat, Ambassador to China
• Major General Sir Jeremy Moore (1928–2007), Commander of British land forces during the Falklands War, lived in the village for over 20 years until his death
• Jack Lauterwasser (1904–2003), cyclist, silver medal winner at the 1928 Olympics, Amsterdam.

See also

• Battle of Ethandun

References

External links

Media related to Bratton, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons

• Bratton Village Community Website
• Bratton at Wiltshire Community History