Braishfield
Encyclopedia
Braishfield is a village and civil parish north of Romsey
in Hampshire
, England
. It has neither main roads nor railways, but is crossed by the Monarch's Way
long-distance footpath. The Church of England parish church
of All Saints was built in 1855.
The hamlet of Pucknall lies due east of the village.
Archaeological discoveries in Braishfield include the remains of the oldest dwellings to be found in Great Britain and the first Neolithic
dwelling site of any kind to be discovered in Hampshire. 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
.
The television series Worzel Gummidge
was filmed in part here, including scenes at the school.
Birthplace of the famous opera singer Anya Schlich-Davies.
The name Braishfield is thought to be derived fom the Old English bræsc + feld, meaning 'open land with small branches or brushwood'.
Romsey
Romsey is a small market town in the county of Hampshire, England.It is 8 miles northwest of Southampton and 11 miles southwest of Winchester, neighbouring the village of North Baddesley...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has neither main roads nor railways, but is crossed by the Monarch's Way
Monarch's Way
The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester.Most of the footpath is waymarked...
long-distance footpath. The Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of All Saints was built in 1855.
The hamlet of Pucknall lies due east of the village.
Archaeological discoveries in Braishfield include the remains of the oldest dwellings to be found in Great Britain and the first Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
dwelling site of any kind to be discovered in Hampshire. The parish lies on the northern edge of the Hampshire Basin
Hampshire Basin
The Hampshire Basin is a geological basin of Paleogene age in southern England, underlying parts of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, and Sussex...
, with chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
in the north. To the south and east of the village this is overlain by Palaeocene sands and clays of the Lambeth Group
Lambeth Group
The Lambeth Group is a stratigraphic group, a set of geological rock strata in the London and Hampshire Basins of southern England. It comprises a complex of vertically and laterally varying gravels, sands, silts and clays deposited between 56-55 million years before present during the Ypresian age...
. At the southern edge the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is an arboretum comprising 72 hectares accommodating over 42,000 trees and shrubs in about 12,000 taxa, notably a collection of oaks, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron....
are on younger deposits of Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
age, sloping from a ridge of the Nursling sands into a valley of London Clay
London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for the fossils it contains. The fossils from the Lower Eocene indicate a moderately warm climate, the flora being tropical or subtropical...
.
The television series Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge is a British children's fictional character who originally appeared in a series of books by the novelist Barbara Euphan Todd. A walking, talking scarecrow, Gummidge has a set of interchangeable turnip, mangel worzel and swede heads, each of which suit a particular occasion or endow...
was filmed in part here, including scenes at the school.
Birthplace of the famous opera singer Anya Schlich-Davies.
The name Braishfield is thought to be derived fom the Old English bræsc + feld, meaning 'open land with small branches or brushwood'.