Bradley, Hampshire

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Bradley
Hampshire
Cottages at Bradley - geograph.org.uk - 105358.jpg
Cottages in Bradley
Location
Grid reference: SU634418
Location: 51°10’18"N, 1°5’39"W
Data
Population: 202  (2011)
Post town: Alresford
Postcode: GU35
Dialling code: 01420
Local Government
Council: Basingstoke and Deane

Bradley is a small village in the north of Hampshire. Its nearest town is Alton, which stands five and a half miles south-east of the village, and Basingstoke looms six and half miles to the north. The 2011 census recorded a village population of 202 people.

The wider parish covers an area of 975 acres, of which 149 acres are woodland and its highest point is 558 feet above sea level. It contains no hamlets.

The village contains a total of seven Grade II listed buildings, and one Grade II* listed building—the Church of All Saints. Other listed buildings include three large farmhouses and a K6 telephone box which sits beside the village pond.

Name

The village name has been spelt in different ways over the centuries, including Bradanleag in King Edward's charter of the 10th century, Bradelie in the 11th century Domeday Book, Bradelega in the 12th century, and Bradelegh in the 13th century.[1]

Parish church

The parish church, the Church of All Saints, is mediæval: some of the oldest parts of the church date from the 13th century, although the structure was virtually rebuilt afresh in 1877.

The church roof consists of red tiles with a small broach spire and a wooden turret. The walls are made of flint with stone dressed buttresses and the windows date from the Restoration period.[2]

History

Middle Ages

The village is first mentioned in a charter made by Edward the Elder in 909: the 909 charter confirmed that Frithstan, the Bishop of Winchester, had possession of five hides in Bradley.

In the Domesday Book in 1086, Bradley is recorded as part of the manor of Overton and it continued to be listed under Overton until the 11th century. By 1167, Bradley became a separate manor and passed through the ownership of many different families. In 1242, Henry de Bradley, possibly a descendant of the manor's first owner, exchanged three virgates of land in Bradley for 41 acres of land in nearby Ellisfield with Geoffrey des Roches, the nephew of Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester. Geoffrey died ten years later, although his wife Emma, the daughter of William Fitz Roger, outlived him, and in 1260 half a virgate of land in the village was transferred to her uncle, Roger Fitz Roger. After Roger's death, the manor of Bradley was then transferred to Martin des Roches, the son and heir of Geoffrey and Emma, and then upon his death in 1277 was passed again to his brother Hugh.[1]

Hugh des Roches was succeeded by his son and heir Sir John des Roches, along with his wife Joan, who in 1338 left future ownership to their daughters Alice and Mary (the latter being the wife of John de Borhunte). Alice died without heirs while Joan des Roches, who outlived her husband, was temporarily holding the manor, and upon her death in 1361 Bradley was passed to her widowed daughter Mary, who almost immediately married Sir Bernard Brocas afterwards. Sir Bernard obtained a grant which gave him the lands of the village in 1363, and died in 1395, leaving his son and heir Sir Bernard to inherit the manor. Although the younger Sir Bernard was executed at Tyburn for treason at the accession of Henry IV, the land was not forfeited and remained in the Brocas family until 1621, until it was leased to Thomas Taylor for 200 years.[1]

Modern Age

In 1629 the manor was taken into the hands of the King, James I, for a debt of £1,001, and leased by the King to Sir Kenelm Digby and Sir John Savage.[1] After the death of Savage, the manor of Bradley was divided into ten-twelfths; one-twelfth was transferred to John's son and heir Edward, ten-twelfths were held by Sir Pexall Brocas and the remaining twelfth by Francis Cotton, son-in-law of Brocas.

In 1711, the manor was passed to Anthony Henley, who was then succeeded by his brother Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington and Viscount Henley in 1764. Robert's son, Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington, died unmarried in 1786, thus leaving his three sisters as heirs. Bradley was then passed down the next year to William Drewe, a merchant from London. After Drewe's death in 1772, his will included Bradley to his son John, upon whose death in 1829 was sold to a Mr Rumbold and was once again passed by sale to Mr H. King, who was succeeded by his son Mr J. H. King. The latter sold the estate in 1877 to Harry Chichester, 2nd Baron Templemore, from whom it was purchased by Mr H. J. Hope in 1887. Mr. Hope died in 1905, and his widow was the last recorded owner of Bradley's estate as of 1905.[1]

In 1870–72, the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales by John Marius Wilson described Bradley as:

...  a parish in Basingstoke district, Hants; 6 miles WNW of Alton r. station, and 6½ S of Basingstoke. Post Town, Preston-Candover, under Micheldever station. Acres, 960. Real property, £860. Pop., 106. Houses, 25. The property is divided among a few. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £250.* Patron,E. Rumbold, Esq. The church is good; and there are charities £20.[3]

Aside from a large solar energy farm constructed near the boundary to Bentworth in 2014, there have been no contemporary developments in the village.[4][5]

Geography

A track leading into the interior of Down Wood

About the village

Church of All Saints facing from the south

The parish contains a total of seven Grade II listed buildings. These include Southwood Farmhouse, Manor Farmhouse and the Upper Farmhouse. Southwood Farmhouse is two storeys high and dates from the 18th century. Its walls are made of red brick with cambered floor openings and its roof is steeply tiled.[6] Manor Farmhouse lies to the south of the village and consists of a near-identical design with Southwood Farmhouse, although it was probably constructed in the early 19th century.[7]

The rectory stands opposite the village pond. A building of several periods, the rectory was first built in the 17th century although includes 18th and 19th century additions. The building consists of two storeys with an exposed timber-framed core, with taller attachments at the south. A tiled roof is hipped at the north end and its walls consist of red brick with Flemish Bond.[8]

Outside links

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References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 A History of the County of Hampshire - Volume 4 pp 202-205: Parishes: Bradley (Victoria County History)
  2. National Heritage List 1093023: Church of All Saints, Bradley (Grade II* listing)
  3. "A history of Shalden in East Hampshire". University of Portsmouth. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/3075. 
  4. "Upper Farm Solar Park 1". Renewables Map. http://renewables-map.co.uk/deccpop.asp?deccrefid=2082. 
  5. "Upper Farm Solar Park 2". Renewables Map. http://www.renewables-map.co.uk/details.asp?pageid=3909&pagename=Upper%20Farm%20Solar%20Farm. 
  6. National Heritage List 1092813: Southwood Farmhouse (Grade II listing)
  7. National Heritage List 1093024: Manor Farmhouse (Grade II listing)
  8. National Heritage List 1093026: The Rectory (Grade II listing)