Bracknell Forest has an interesting and varied history, and there are some fascinating local sites to be visited in the area, ranging from an Iron Age Hillfort over 2000 years old, to areas of the town centre whose 1950s architecture has gained them Conservation Area status.
Bracknell Forest Council completed its Heritage Strategy in 2004, and a Heritage Forum has been successfully established to help oversee this.
The Council has also created, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Heritage Online project, a website dedicated to bringing together the history, memories and people of Bracknell Forest Borough.
A brief history
Evidence of human occupation in and around Bracknell can be traced back as far as the Bronze Age, over 2000 years ago. Bill Hill open space in Bracknell is a scheduled burial mound, known as a bowl barrow, dating back to this period, and although there is no evidence above ground today, past excavations have revealed there was once also a settlement at Cabbage Hill in Warfield.
Caesar’s Camp to the south of the town, wrongly thought to be a Roman settlement due to its prime location by the main Roman link between London and Silchester, is in fact an Iron Age Hill Fort built between 500 and 700 BC. Situated on a natural spur the settlement would have had a wooden palisade of tree trunks around it and would have been a community centre and base as well as a refuge in times of attack.
The first mention of the name Bracknell appeared in a 10th Century Saxon document. Spelt as "Braccan Heal" the name was thought to mean a piece of land belonging to "Bracca" in a projecting spur of the parish. This community developed at the junction of two major routes through Windsor Forest, at that time the king’s major hunting grounds.
Its situation and good communications brought prosperity, and there are fine Victorian mansions set in striking estates at Easthampstead Park, and Lily Hill Park. South Hill Park, now home to one of the country’s largest arts centres, is a Georgian mansion house set in its own beautiful gardens. Binfield, to the north of the town, was the home of the poet Alexander Pope.
Following the destruction caused by the Second World War, eight New Towns were built within a 30 mile radius of London. Designed to become self-contained communities combining the convenience of town life with the advantages of the country. Bracknell was one of these eight, and expansion began promptly with the creation of neighbourhoods, such as Priestwood, Easthampstead, Bullbrook and Harmans Water in the 1950s.
Bracknell continued to expand, with Crown Wood and Forest Park concluding the New Town neighbourhood development in the late 1980s. Many businesses were attracted to the area, including BMW, Waitrose and 3M all of whom still operate their HQs from Bracknell.
Heritage is important to the area, and despite having no museum the Borough tries hard to make its history accessible to all. The Heritage online website has digitised over 500 historic photographs and the Berkshire Record Office in Reading holds many historical documents relating to Bracknell Forest and the surrounding area.
The Heritage Officer works part time helping to preserve the history of the area, and has responsibility for a number of initiatives including the Heritage Forum, Heritage projects and heritage policies. Heritage is also covered by the work of other colleagues within Countryside and Parks, such as the restoration of Lily Hill Park.
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