"Welcome to Bracknell, my home" Bracknell by Synch_X

Map of the area around Bracknell

Bracknell, town, central southern England and the administrative centre of Bracknell Forest unitary authority. It is about 50 km (30 mi) west of London and about 10 km (6 mi) east of Reading. Bracknell was a small town of 5,100, with a flourishing cattle market, when in 1949 the government designated it as one of eight new towns to be built around London, after which it grew dramatically. It is near the M3, M4, and M25 motorways and on the railway, and its good transport links have led many companies to base themselves there, particularly those in high technology. The Meteorological Office is also located in Bracknell. Other industries include the manufacture of ball bearings, boilers, clothes, furniture, petrol pumps, and tools. Bracknell and Wokingham College is a college of further education with 900 full-time and 20,000 part-time students. Population (1991) town 50,000; Bracknell Forest district 96,000.

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There is evidence of settlement at Bracknell dating back to the Iron Age. The inappropriately named Caesar’s Camp to the south of the town is in fact an Iron Age Hill Fort built around 2000 years ago. Close by runs the Devils Highway, the Roman’s main link road between London and Silchester.

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.

Bracknell Church was built in the 1850s. The town has only three ancient buildings, all of them pubs. The best is the Old Manor, a beautiful 17th century brick manor house complete with priest hole overlooking one of the bars. It is said to have secret passages connecting to various locations. Legend associates them with Dick Turpin, a patron of the now demolished Hind's Head that stood opposite. The two buildings once stood alone on Ascot Heath. The surrounding area was infamous for such bandits. Use of the underground passages by the secret priests would seem more likely though.

The Hind's Head had an unsavoury reputation. In the 18th century its publican apparently came up with an ingenious way of subsidising his income. Any rich traveller who stopped at the inn was given a particularly undesirable room for the night: It had a trap door beneath the bed. When asleep, the unfortunate guest would be catapulted down a neck-braking shaft and their possessions taken to swell the innkeeper's purse. Eventually, a bar-maid fell for one of the prospective murder victims and told him what to expect. He ran for help and the publican was quickly arrested. Unfortunately for Bracknell, this story is almost identical to the much better documented version from the Ostrich in Colnbrook (Bucks).

The other surviving old pubs are the Red Lion and the Bull: both timber framed but of uncertain date. Before the latter stands one of Bracknell's many unusual fountains: a large rotating granite ball miraculously suspended in a pool of water. Not far away, in Charles Square, is a huge clock-fountain!

It was at Bracknell, in 1723, that a troop of mounted grenadier guards had a pitched battle with the infamous band of ruffians known as the Wokingham Blacks. They had been marauding around this area of Windsor Forest for over a year, but, after one of their number was forced to reveal the gang's whereabouts, the authorities were, at last, able to capture some twenty-nine men.

In 1949 Bracknell and the area surrounding it was designated as one of eight New Towns to be built within a 30 mile radius of London.

• Pros:Great forest and woodland areas.
• Cons:You never know when the weather will be nice.
• In a nutshell:The forest can be a nice place for a family visit.