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Bratton Parish & Community

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Published: 09 October 2017

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Bratton is a large picturesque village in Wiltshire, England, just east of Westbury on the north edge of Salisbury Plain. Located three miles from the town of Westbury (mainline train to London), twenty miles from the Roman City of Bath and twenty miles from the historical city of Salisbury.

Bratton is home to over 1250 residents and has a thriving community of clubs, societies and social groups.

In the centre of the village is The Duke public house, convenience store and Post Office, Bratton Community Primary School, the village green including a young children's play park, a Doctor's Surgery, along with three halls (Jubilee Hall, Pavilion and the Church Institute) all regularly used for activities, fundraising events as well as talks and private functions.

Through the great efforts of a dedicated committee, Bratton is the proud owner of an Recreation Ground which provides a wide range of facilities: A full size football pitch; a cricket square with 6 wickets; a trim trail; a pavilion and a half-pipe ramp for skate boarding to name but a few and is constantly being developed and updated when funds allow. Notable buildings in the village are St James's Church, Bratton House, Bratton Baptist Chapel and a fine 17th century Court House. This Court House is probably of medieval origin. Despite local folklore linking it to the notorious Judge Jeffreys and his 'Bloody Assize' of 1685, it was not a law court but was the meeting place for the main manor court in Bratton. Parts of Bratton came under the jurisdiction of several manors, making for a confusing story, but the largest and most well known is the one that from the late 1660s had as its lords of the manor the Thynne family of Longleat, who later got the title Viscount Weymouth and later still Marquis of Bath. It was their tenants who attended this court house.

The Westbury White Horse and the earthworks of Bratton Castle Iron Age hill fort are both in Bratton parish.