Bransgore is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

within the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

District,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. The village developed in the 19th century when a church and a school were built. It is technically classified as an urban area, although in some respects it still has the picturesque character of a rural English village.

Overview

Bransgore is a village and

in the

New Forest District New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Lyndhurst, although the largest town is Totton. The district also includes the towns of Fordingbridge, Lymington, New Milton and Ringwood. The district ...

. The parish includes the village of

Thorney Hill Thorney and Thorny may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Thorney, Cambridgeshire *Thorney, Buckinghamshire * Thorney, Nottinghamshire *Thorney, Somerset * Thorney Hill, Hampshire *Thorney Island (Westminster) *Thorney Island (West Sussex) *Th ...

, and the hamlets of Neacroft, Godwinscroft, Beckley, Hinton, and Waterditch. At the time of the last national census of 2011, Bransgore had a total population of 4,238, with just over half being aged between 20 and 64. Bransgore now straddles the border of the newly created

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

, with the majority of the village being outside the park. Bransgore has a wide variety of shops including a post office, pharmacy, bakery, greengrocer, hairdresser, and take-away food shops.Bransgore Virtual High Street
newforest-online, retrieved 12 September 2011 There are also several pubs/restaurants.Things to do in Bransgore
newforest-online, retrieved 12 September 2011 Bransgore has a village sports field with a children's playground. The sports field is the location of the Village Fun Day event which is held each summer.

History

The earliest deeds mentioning Bransgore date from the 1730s. A. T. Lloyd, J. E. S. Brooks, (1996), ''The History of New Milton and its Surrounding Area, Centenary Edition'', page 14 The village was called, in 1759, "Bransgoer Common", and in 1817 "Bransgrove".Old Hampshire Gazetteer – Bransgore
/ref> The word "gore" in

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

means a triangular piece of land. It is uncertain who or what "Bran" refers to. A local myth is that the name Bransgore came from one of

King Alfred Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when ...

's battles against the Danes, Brans from "brains" and Gore from "blood". In the 19th century, Victorian romantics even persuaded the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

to mark on their maps the site of a battle at Bransgore, on the road leading to Sopley. There is unfortunately, no truth in this story, and the name Bransgore does not derive from "brains and gore." The Crown Inn in Bransgore dates from the 18th century, as does the Three Tuns pub. The church of Saint Mary the Virgin was erected in 1822 as a chapel of ease. Victoria County History, (1912), ''A History of the County of Hampshire'': Volume 5, Christchurch, pages 101–110
/ref> The church is of brick with stone dressings, with a tower and originally a spire.Samuel Lewis (editor), (1848), ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', pages 347–350
/ref> However, the spire was removed in 1967. The early 16th-century font, which is said to have come from

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, is octagonal, with a monogram J D, perhaps for "John Draper," the last Prior of

Christchurch Priory Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset (formerly in Hampshire). It is one of the longest parish churches in the country and is as large as many of the Church o ...

. The

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Bransgore was formed in 1875 from parts of Christchurch and Sopley.

Henry William Wilberforce Henry William Wilberforce (22 September 1807 – 23 April 1873) was an English Catholic clergyman, formerly a Tractarian, and thereafter a newspaper proprietor, editor and journalist. Life Henry Wilberforce was born in 1807, the youngest so ...

, son of

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

(known for his campaign against slavery), was once the vicar of Saint Mary's church.The History of Bransgore
newforest-online, retrieved 12 September 2011 He founded a school in the village in 1841. In 1895, a National school was built accommodating 174 pupils, which is now the Primary School.

All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...

church near

is a grade I listed, Edwardian Baroque church, built in 1906. Designed by

Detmar Blow Detmar Jellings Blow (24 November 1867 – 7 February 1939) was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocracy, and later he became es ...

and constructed from

Caen stone Caen stone () is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ...

and rendered brick. Inside are wall paintings by

Phoebe Anna Traquair Phoebe Anna Traquair (; 24 May 1852 – 4 August 1936) was an Irish-born artist, who achieved international recognition for her role in the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland, as an illustrator, painter and embroiderer. Her works included larg ...

(1852–1936) of

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

featuring local people. Between 1894 and 1974, Bransgore was part of the

of Christchurch East.Christchurch East CP
www.visionofbritain.org.uk Following the county boundary changes of 1974, Christchurch East parish was split into the parish of Bransgore (Hampshire) and the parish of Burton (

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

). In 2023, the building of 100 homes in a flood prone area near Derrit Lane in Bransgore was approved despite many objections.

Twin towns

Bransgore is twinned with: *

Saint-Georges-Montcocq Saint-Georges-Montcocq () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. International relations Saint-Georges-Montcocq is twinned with: * Bransgore, United Kingdom See also *Communes of the Manche department ...

, France

References

External links

Bransgore Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire New Forest District