Winkfield Hamlets
from Bullbrook to Swinley

Bullbrook
Bullbrook is one of the older parts of modern Bracknell. It is named after the Bull-Brook which still runs through it, though it's not as easy to find as it once was. On the edge of Bullbrook stands Lily Hill Park. This lovely old house was built in 1817 by Henry Dormer Vincent, possibly on the site of a medieval hunting lodge. Henry was an equerry to HRH the Duke of Gloucester and probably moved to Bullbrook to be near to Windsor Castle. The Vincent family and their heirs, the Lanes, lived at Lily Hill for almost a hundred years. They made extensive alterations to the building in the mid-19th century. Their residency was followed by the Van Necks and several short-lived occupants before the place was bought by the Bracknell Development Corporation in 1955. It now houses offices.

Chavey Down
Chavey Down was the northernmost section of the little known South Berkshire Moors that stretched from Sandhurst to Bracknell and Ascot. Its most interesting feature was its windmill which is thought to have stood at the junction of Longhill and Priory Roads and Locks Ride. Chavey Down Farm may have been the Miller's House. The area was wild heathland until 1813, when George III enclosed as much common land as he could get his hands on. Chavey Down was sold off to the Sewell family. Ascot Priory was founded there in 1861 by Dr. Edward Bouverie Pusey, but it wasn't until 1879 that any widespread building work started. The first house was Rosemont on the corner of Church Road and Priory Road, and from there the village grew rapidly.

Cranbourne & Woodside
Better known today as the Cranbourne Tower, Cranbourne Lodge (actually just over the border in Windsor parish) is the residence of the Keeper of Cranbourne Chase or Walke, one of the sixteen sub-divisions of Windsor Forest and unusual for its fallow as opposed to red deer. The office dates back to, at least, the reign of Henry IV, though the lodge was first built by Henry VII. The present building is mostly late Georgian. Thomas Warde was appointed Keeper in 1535. His son later became Lord of the Manor of nearby Winkfield (and Hurst). Queen Anne Hyde was born in the Lodge.

Samuel Pepys had an awkward meeting with his commander, Sir George Carteret, at Cranbourne Lodge, when acting as a naval messenger. He first got lost in Windsor Forest, then, when he eventually arrived, he found the lodge under reconstruction. Pepys had to climb up a ladder to Sir George's bedroom, the only room in use. The peer was still in bed and was not amused by the news of an English defeat off Norway.

Adjoining the Chase is the estate of Fernhill. In the 18th century, it was the last Berkshire home of the ancient Knollys family, descendants of Sir Francis Knollys, Treasurer of Queen Elizabeth I's Royal Household; and, in the 1820s, it became famous as the British residence of Lord Metcalfe, the Governor General of India, who is buried in Winkfield parish church. An adjoining 18th century mansion, Cranbourne Court, was once part of the same estate. It has had various names over the years and a myriad of well-known residents, including Admiral Sir Charles Rowley, General Sir Thomas Willshire, the Victorian actress Edna May and singer Rod Stewart. Bob Hope rented it in the Summer of 1961 when filming 'The Road to Hong Kong' and lived their with Bing Crosby and their families. Also to be seen in St. Mary's is the brass of Thomas Montague (1630). He lived at Kilbees Manor, near Cranbourne. An arrow kept there for many years was said to have been the one that gave the place its name. It was presented, by Elizabeth I, to one of the Montagues after an extraordinary feet of archery in which he shot it straight into a hive of bees.

Ranelagh School (Bracknell) started out in Cranbourne. It was founded by the Earl of Ranelagh as the Green School in 1709. It began life at Cranbourne Hall, but moved to Lovel Road in 1878, becoming Cranbourne Ranelagh School. It opened as a Grammar School, Ranelagh School, in Bracknell in 1908.

Harmans Water
Though now the name of a large estate in east Bracknell, the original Harman's Water has now gone. It was a small lake that stood where Merlewood and Shaftesbury Close now are. The name dates back to at least 1761. The area around the Blue Lion, in the north of the estate, is quite an old district. Originally, it was a small hamlet called Ramslade. Today, the name has almost totally disappeared. Prior to its demise, the RAF Staff College was officially the Ramslade RAF Staff College, and Ramslade Road stood within the complex.

Maiden's Green
Maiden's Green is the area around Stirrups and the garden centre opposite. It once had its own windmill just to the west. Windmill Hill reminds us where it stood. the old moats of Chawridge Manor are nearby.

Martin's Heron
Martin's Heron is one of the most recent developments in Bracknell. The housing estate, including the Railway Station, is built on the parkland that once surrounded the mansion of Martin's Herne (or Heron), originally called Goddard's Croft. The house that was pulled down in the early 1980s was probably built around 1750. It was the residence of a succession of high ranking army officials and minor members of the nobility. General William Gordon lived there in the late 18th century. He was Groom of the Bed-Chamber to King George III and the King was a frequent visitor to Martin's Heron. A grassy walk used to be pointed out as one that the King particularly liked to stroll along. General Gordon is best known for controlling the mob during the Gordon Riots of 1780 as recorded in Dicken's "Barnaby Rudge".

Major-General Sir Henry Rooke took on the house in the mid 1820s. He was a personal friend of HRH the Duke of Gloucester, but is best known in Winkfield for establishing one of the first Agricultural Societies in the parish. General Rooke spent a large amount of money improving his house Martin's Heron. It was latterly home to Baroness Berkeley and her family.

Swinley
An ancient earthwork of some kind stands on Tower Hill. Tradition connects it with Lady Aedflaed who owned Winkfield Manor in Saxon times, that is until she gave it away to Abingdon Abbey in 1015. There used to be remains of a building here, presumably the New Tower mentioned by Camden.

Queen Anne and her husband loved to hunt through Windsor Forest and Swinley was one of their favourite haunts. They kept the Royal Staghounds at their kennels here, and the master lived in the Lodge, the centrepiece of Swinley Walke, a sub-division of the Forest. It was demolished 1830. When the Queen became too old to ride, she created the rides throughout the forest, so she could follow the hunt in her carriage. They were later extended by George III. He also hunted around Swinley and, in 1798 when the government were worried about a French invasion, he came to review the troops at their training camp here.

South of Swinley is where Bagshot Heath once spilt over the Surrey border and stretched way into Berkshire. It was a desolate area, one of the most notorious for highwaymen and footpads, and their rotting remains could often be seen swinging in chains at Wishmoor Cross. Hence:

Prepared for War, now Bagshot Heath we cross
Where broken gamesters oft' repair their loss.

However, some travellers were not so badly treated. There is an old story told of the chivalrous French highwayman, Claude Duval, in which he took only 100 of £400 from a certain party on the condition that the beautiful young lady, in the coach, dance with him. This tale from the reign of Charles II is also claimed by Maidenhead Thicket, but certainly do not believe the Londoners who will tell you it took place on Hounslow Heath. On another occasion, Duval robbed Squire Roper, Master of the Royal Buckhounds, of 50 guineas and tied him hand and foot to a tree.

For Winkfield Row & Winkfield Street See Winkfield Village

References: J Harris & GM Stantan's 'A History of Winkfield', VG Hunt's 'Lily Hill House: A Family History' & 'Martin's Heron:: A House & its Owners', RW Sears' 'History of Bracknell' & R Timbrell's 'Chavey Up, Down & Around'.