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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

They say that in Luccombe Valley there are twelve Springs and, during World War Two, seven of them were taken over and pumped up to a reservoir under Picquet Hill, in order to supply water to the newly built aerodrome at Steeple Ashton.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

They say that the National School also provided evening classes in reading, writing and arithmetic, from 7 to 8.30, for boys who could not attend during the day. They were taught by the Mistress of the day school, an ex-pupil teacher, a farmer and a fitter at Reeves iron foundry.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

They say that a 7 year contract Jacob Stokes’ mother signed for his Indenture of Apprenticeship at R&J Reeves forbade him from committing fornication, contracting matrimony, playing at cards and dice tables, or haunting taverns and playhouses. He stayed for the rest of his life.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

They say that for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 it was decided to tear down the public schoolroom near the Baptist Chapel and erect a hall in the centre of the village, for concerts, entertainments and other gatherings. The cost of £160 was met by public subscription.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

They say that when the old and ‘effete’ fire engine, obtained from Westbury in 1874, had become ‘effete’ and practically useless 24 years later, Mr Oswald Reeves oversaw a local subscription to raise £66 to buy a good-as-new, thoroughly up-to-date, engine from Shane, Mason & Co.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

They say that, at a Westbury Petty Sessions in 1864, Mr Laverton, cloth mill owner and Liberal member of parliament, committed Iron Moulder, William Taylor of Bratton, to 14 days in Devizes Gaol for absenting himself from the service of R & J Reeves ironworks without permission.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

They say that when the new Council School opened in 1928 Miss L. Burgess, an untrained certified head teacher at the non-conformist British School for 21 years, was paid more than Mr R. Cherry, the trained head teacher, for the first 2 years and was then on equal pay thereafter.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

They say that in 1920 Miss Esther Hill became the first female County Educational Committee Officer, with her cheer and encouragement welcomed in every school. When she died in 1934, aged 44, her wish to be buried in Bratton was honoured and the churchyard thronged with mourners.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

They say that on Monday 7th September 1914 twenty men sat down to a breakfast at The Duke Inn before departing for Devizes to enlist at 9 o’clock, driven in motor cars provided by Mr Reeves, Mr Miller and Mr Laverton, with the Bratton Band leading the procession out of Bratton.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

They say that Jane Whitaker started a lending library, formed a reading circle, and in 1837 launched a high-minded literary magazine covering current affairs, statistics, farming, horticulture, literature and philosophy titled ‘The Village Rill’.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

They say that when the gas supply came to Bratton in 1904 it allowed 20 gas street lights to be installed on the village streets, roads. lanes, paths and inside the church. One can still be seen today at the top of The Butts.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

They say that the windmill, which stood beside 'Windygates' house on Portway, powered a water pump. Children were told by the house gardener that it was a giant and occasionally they were invited into the garden, when it was sleeping, to search for sweets 'that he had spilled'.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

They say that when Army Chaplain Rev Pyper succeeded Rev Palairet at St James’ Church in the 1850s he bought a beautiful set of brass instruments and engaged a teacher to start Bratton’s first band. The premier tune they performed was ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Gathering fishes all alive’.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

They say that the odd old iron post that stands all alone on the footpath beside the Jubilee Hall is the last remaining part of an iron fence that once enclosed the hall, taking the space where the pavement now runs, in an era when sightings of motor vehicles was still rare.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

They say that on Sunday 16th November 1930 Mrs Eveline Locket, of Newholme, passed way. Two days later, on Tuesday 18th November, her husband Dr Thomas Locket also died, aged 62. Coincidentally, on that same Tuesday their gardener, Mr John Mead, died as well, at the age of 75.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

They say that on May Bank Holiday 1978 huge crowds came to celebrations of the battle of Ethandun on Picquet Hill. Although the view across the Plain remained almost unchanged since the 878 battle, this time there were first-aiders, Portaloos, parachutists and a hot air balloon.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

They say that in 1886 the Mutual Improvement Society was formed and held at the National School. Women were not allowed to join for the first year. There was then a stimulating atmosphere of readings, concerts and discussions on topics like ‘Do men have as many brains as women?’

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

They say that ‘The Tynings’ was originally the name of the housing development consisting of Southay Drive, Ethendun Avenue and Seymour Close. Lady Seymour resigned from the Parish Council over the number of homes actually built and today just a row of nearby trees bear her name.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

They say that in 1958, 80 year old widow Mrs Hooper was tragically found to have died at 2 Church Road from gas poisoning, despite having no gas appliances. The pipe supplying the neighbour passed through her house and was found to have corroded and gas slowly filled the house.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

They say the Jubilee Hall was opened at 1pm on Tuesday 21 June 1887 with a dinner for 150 residents to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of 'Her Most Gracious Majesty’, Queen Victoria. Designed and built by Henry Reeves, it cost £180, paid for by subscriptions from the village.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

They say there were once swans on Luccombe lake. Early on a Sunday in 1936, one landed in the road at Stradbrook and spent the whole day preventing traffic, timid walkers and churchgoers passing. The following year one died during lift-off when it hit the power lines at Luccombe.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

They say that in 1957, 4 years after escorting Sir Edmund Hillary to the summit of Mount Everest, Sherpa Tenzing came to Bratton, visiting the White Horse, “conquering” Picket Hill, before going to The Duke, playing darts, pulling pints and insisting on shaking everybody’s hand.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

They say that on 22nd June 1911, as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of King George V in Westminster Abbey, exchanged Union Jack flags were simultaneously raised at 1pm in Bratton, Wiltshire, and 4,500 miles away in Bratton, Saskatchewan, Canada.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

They say that in 1895 when shoemaker Mr Burgess and engine fitter Mr Millard refused to vaccinate their children they were fined £1. Henry Reeves JP, Westbury Anti-Vaccination Society President, collected subscriptions to refund the fine. 6 of the 9 Parish Councillors donated.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

They say that Muriel Brinkworth was a self-taught water colour artist who captured the changing views of Bratton, having moved here after WW1. Despite her paintings being shown at the Royal Academy in 1939, she remained a perfectionist who tore up any works she did not like.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

They say that when 'Patcombe Farm', along Melbourne Street, was rebuilt in 1953 it was renamed 'Reeves Farm' by the Ministry of Defence because they repeatedly got them mixed up. The real 'Reeves Farm' had actually been up over the top of White Cleeves above Longcombe Bottom.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

They say that there are two war memorials in Bratton. The Wheel Cross, erected in 1920 by Mr Diggle, for those lost in the First World War and then the Second World War. The Chestnut tree was planted to mark the relief of the siege of Mafeking in 1900 during the Second Boer War.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

They say that in 1882 the London and South Western Railway Company proposed a new line to run below the White Horse, crossing the road by Daneslye, passing close to the Vicarage, running up Luccombe Combe, before entering a two mile tunnel out onto the open Plain.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

They say that when the MOD owned The Butts house in the late '70s one resident was Colonel John Blashford-Snell, the renowned explorer, who once took a grand piano on a canoe up the rapids to a remote Wai Wai village in Guyana. He then returned two years later to tune it.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

They say that, in the 1960s, Lord and Lady Seymour allowed adults and teenagers to slip into the gates at Bratton House, skip around to the side, and play on the tennis courts two or three evenings each week. They had to bring their own tennis racket though.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

They say that on a Sunday afternoon in April 1961 2,000 people came to watch two motorcycle scrambling races on a mile and half circuit around tranquil Luccombe Bottom. Imagine those swirling echoing roars. A sudden severe storm added extra growling excitement to the second race.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

They say that, at the start of the 20th century, Bratton was a very popular Summer holiday location, with many hundreds drawn to experience the White Horse, the fine views, the clean air, the church steps, the two tea gardens, the whale bones, and the simple charm of the village.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

They say that when Howard Couldrake joined the Navy in 1907 he was 6 months underage. He became a Royal Marine Lance-Corporal, travelled the world, earned 4 medals in the thick of WW1, and kept a snake as a pet, before returning home to Luccombe Terrace to run a haulage business.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

They say that Carpenters Lane got its name when Ralph Robins was allowed to build his house and carpenter's workshop along there in 1657, many, many years before R & J Reeves Ironworks set up shop alongside the lane in 1830.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

They say that, due to emigration in the great cloth trade depression, the population of Bratton halved from 1,295 to 610 in the century after the 1821 census. Despite the large 20th century housing projects, the population has still not fully returned, standing at 1,171 in 2021.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

The Wiltshire Times, Saturday, June 12th 1937.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

They say that it wasn't until 1931 that the first lady bell ringers were introduced into the tower at St James Church. They proved to be such a success that within just a few years a complete band of lady ringers could often be heard chiming out over Bratton.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

They say that in one week in 1940 residents of a council house, Yew Trees, 2 houses on Luccombe Terrace, The Duke and The Manse were fined for showing lights from their homes during blackout. Box Cottage was also fined 5 shillings for allowing a bonfire to flame during blackout.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

They say that Matilda Brinkworth, of Yew Trees, had celebrated her 100th birthday with 24 telegrams, 61 letters, a visit from children of the village school, and a trip to the Polling Station. When she died in 1939, aged 104, she was the oldest woman in the West Country.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

They say that in 1843 James Withey and Simon Watts were committed to the new Devizes County House of Corrections for three weeks each, having been found guilty of stealing a quantity of water-cresses from the garden of Thomas Mead in Bratton.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

They say that baptisms in the Stradbrook were held at 8 o'clock on Sunday mornings. The night before, sluice gates were closed, the water bed cleaned out for a clean square tile, and fresh water let in. Large crowds would travel for miles to watch the baptisms and to be baptised.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

They say Bratton's Brass Band have been part of many village celebrations. In 1867 they marched before Reeves Ironworks labourers parading through the village, returning from Westbury Leigh with 500 loaves for villagers, costing 7 pence, a whole penny less than the Bratton price.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

They say that County Librarian Frederick Hallworth doubled memberships in the '50s, introduced 5 mobile libraries in the '60s (bringing pleasure and knowledge to rural 'literary deserts') and introduced the junior section for children as young as 3. In 1977 he was awarded an OBE.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

They say that in the 63 years Bratton & Edington station was open the most unusual passengers the staff ever saw arrive were the 112 Cheviot sheep transported by train from Lockerbie in the mid '50s by farmer William Gale, who then directly marched them up the road onto the Down.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

They say that at one time 3 roads in the village were given the old Wiltshire name for a steep hill, ‘Bash’. Edington Bash and Bratton Bash, twinned beside the Stradbrook, and where Bury Lane once led up to Brown’s Farm the road was considered steep enough to be Brown’s Bash.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

They say that Anthony White, of Lower Road, and Joan Miller, of Greater Lane Farm, met as members of the Bratton Silver Band. When they were married at Edington Priory in October 1957 their fellow band members formed a guard of honour using their instruments.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

They say that over 700 people attended the 1936 flower show at Bratton School. Many more listened to John Betjeman broadcasting from the show for his 'Crowded Moments', describing Bratton as one of the prettiest villages he knew and his preference for its flower show over Chelsea.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

They say that in post war years Bratton School was visited by Education Officers from around the globe, including Rhodesia, Palestine, Kenya, China, South Africa, Fiji and Tanganyika. Students had never seen people of different races before and asked them for their autographs.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

They say that Frank Twiss joined the Navy in 1924, was a prisoner of war for 3 years, retired as Second Sea Lord in 1970. and served as Black Rod until moving to East Marsh Farm in 1978. In 1994 the Queen attended his Thanksgiving service and the National Gallery has 2 portraits.

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Bitesize Bratton @bitesizebratton.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

They say that in February 1861, to the alarm of villagers, a furious gale raged from the South, blowing the tall foundry chimney over into the roof of the engine room and blacksmith workshops. Had it happened in day time hours workers lives would have been put in great jeopardy.

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