The Guide To Bramley
Army Training Area
The Public Area extended to the north of the M3, in a strip, is defined as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), is owned by Lord Ashburton, and is in private ownership. This large area was purchased as part of a mitigation scheme after the Second World War when the Army Training Area was being created. It is an important wildlife habitat for numerous species. It is currently grazed by cattle and sheep during the summer months.
Shipham, with its large parish were originally part of the nearby hamlet of Bramley, This Is Hampshire (thisishampshire.co.uk). A small camp was established in this area for soldiers training during the First World War. The camp was named after the nearby village and also a house nearby called Bramley House which had been built in the late 18th century and was named after a town called Bramley in Yorkshire. This camp became known as Bramley Camp. It is a few miles north west of Shipham.
Bramley is village and part of the parish of Bramley, adjoining the training area on the south. The village has a bus service along with a public house The Blacksmiths Arms. Every Saturday a farmers market is held in the village hall. In September 2008 Bramley Village Institute was awarded an Oxfordshire Village of the Year 2009 award. Bramley Camp was opened in the early 1940s by the Army for use by their forces stationed in and around Aldershot.
The camp was later used to house units preparing for the D-Day landings in 1944. Following those operations, Bramley became a maintenance area before reopening as a training ground in 1948. The military training area was first established in 1898 and the Territorial Army and Volunteer Force were both active in the area by 1900. By 1916 it was garrisoned by the 38th Division but it had ceased to be used for training before being transferred to No 41 Group, RAF, during World War II.
Governance
The Surrey village of Bramley is in the Gatwick Diamond, with its village centre lying at grid reference. Bramley village had a population of 7,980 according to the United Kingdom Census 2011. Bramley lies very close to London Gatwick Airport, and is the nearest place to the airport to have an official population figure. The most populous civil parish in the borough is Tadley with Sherfield English Village and the smallest is Sherfield on Loddon which only contains one settlement.
The villages of Hinton Blewett, Lyneham, Sherfield Park and Upton Grey are in the county but not in a civil parish. Bramley is in the county of Hampshire, a member state of the United Kingdom, located 48 miles from London and 16 miles from Southampton. The United Kingdom consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Bramley can be roughly defined as the area between the B3348 from West End to Sherfield Park, the A339 from Newlands Corner to the railway bridge, the railway and along the east bank of the River Test.
Publications
As a magazine, the 265 covers news regarding Bramley, such as village events and people's contributions to the community. The magazine is delivered around the Bramley area and into other Surrey villages. The View Magazine is another publication from Bramley, covering a wider range of issues including education, crime and health. It has been running since February 2009, when it commenced as monthly magazine. The training area is not open to the public and is heavily secure with only landowners allowed entry.
