Bratton History Association farms

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Farms

Bratton has always had a prominent farming community, which continues to this day. At one time the parish had at least 14 farms. In the south of the parish, on Salisbury Plain, there was a considerable amount of sheep farming. In the north there was, and still is, a large amount of arable farming. And around the village itself there were many fruit orchards, traces of which still remain in many gardens and in some road and house names

Emm's farm

Bratton has only a handful of thatched buildings, and this is one of the most important, along with its venerable old barn. A Longleat estate farmhouse, it was associated with both the Whitaker family, stalwarts of the village for centuries, and the Emm family, whose history is explored in another article on the website.

Download Emm's Farm pdf

Grange Farm

This property in Lower Road was the farmhouse of one of Bratton manor’s most important holdings. The farm was known as Ballard’s Home Living when the Longleat estate owned the manor, thanks to its long connection with the Ballard family. A fascinating inventory of its furnishings in 1723 is among the insights revealed here.

Download Grange Farm pdf

Hill Farms

By Kathleen White.
First published by Bratton History Association in 1991 and edited for the website in 2012.

Between half past eight and nine o’clock each school-day, a number of children between five and 14 years of age could be seen walking down the Cleeves into Church Road, along Stradbrook and eventually to school in the British School. These were the children from Grant’s and Reeves’ farms, which are situated in a fold of the hills way above the village of Bratton. Other children would straggle down Luccombe Road from Southdown Farm which lies almost halfway between Bratton and Imber. These farms, along with Thorncombe, New Farm and Ladywell, were known as hill farms.

Hill farms usually comprised several cottages and were scattered at intervals for miles across Salisbury Plain above the villages lying along the escarpment.

Download Hill Farms pdf

Bratton History Association.

The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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