Bracknell
Encyclopedia
Bracknell is a town and civil parish
in the Borough of Bracknell Forest
in Berkshire
, England
. It lies 11 miles (17.7 km) to the south-east of Reading
, 10 miles (16.1 km) southwest of Windsor
and 28 miles (45.1 km) west of central London
. The town has a population of 50,131.
The name Bracknell is first recorded in a Winkfield Boundary Charter of AD 942 as Braccan heal, and may mean "Nook of land belonging to a man called Bracca", from the Old English Braccan (genitive singular of a personal name) + heal, healh (a corner, nook or secret place). An early form of the town's name, Brakenhale, still survives as the name of one of its schools.
The town is surrounded, on the east and south, by the vast expanse of Swinley Woods and Crowthorne
Woods. The urban area has absorbed parts of many local outlying areas including Warfield
, Winkfield
and Binfield
.
(though not all of the old parish) and the hamlet of Ramslade
. Easthampstead has a very long history. There is a Bronze Age
round barrow
at Bill Hill. Easthampstead Park
was a favoured royal hunting lodge in Windsor Forest and Catherine of Aragon
was banished there until her divorce was finalised. It was later the home of the Trumbulls
who were patrons of Alexander Pope
from Binfield.
To the north-east of the town is to be found the Quelm Stone, a standing stone
, and to the south-west is Caesar's Camp, an Iron Age
hill fort.
One of the oldest buildings in the town is the 'Old Manor' public house
, a 17th century brick manor house
featuring a number of priest hole
s. Next door once stood the 'Hind's Head' coaching inn, where it is said Dick Turpin
used to drink. It is believed that there were once underground tunnels between the two, along which the famous highwayman
could escape from the authorities.
It was at Bracknell, in 1723, that a troop of mounted Grenadier Guards
had a pitched battle with an 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 finally caught some 29 men.
Surviving old pubs are the Old Manor, the Red Lion and the Bull, all timber-framed and dating from before the 18th century. In front of the Bull stands one of Bracknell's many unusual fountains: a large rotating granite ball suspended in a pool of water. Not far away, in Charles Square, is a large clock-fountain.
Oscar Wilde
is said to have visited South Hill Park
but this has never been verified. It is believed he wrote his short story; the Selfish Giant, whilst in the gardens. Furthermore he named a character Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest
.
The oldest place of worship in the town is the parish church
of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene
in Easthampstead
. There has been a church there since Saxon times
, although the present building dates from the mid 19th century, except for the lower portions of the Tudor tower. Holy Trinity Church near the town centre was built in 1851.
in 1949, in the aftermath of the Second World War. The site was originally a village cum small town in the civil parish of Warfield
in the Easthampstead Rural District
. Very little of the original Bracknell is left. The location was preferred to White Waltham
, which was also considered, because the Bracknell site avoided encroaching on good quality agricultural land. It also had the additional advantage of being on a railway line.
The new town was planned for 25,000 people; it was intended to occupy over 1,000 hectares (about 6 square miles) of land in and around 'Old Bracknell' in the area now occupied by Priestwood, Easthampstead, Bullbrook and Harman's Water. The existing town centre and industrial areas were to be retained with new industry brought in to provide jobs. However, the town has since expanded far beyond its intended size into farmland to the south, and major expansion is now, as of 2008, under way (Jennetts Park ) to the west of the town at Peacock Farm and on the site of the former RAF Staff College.
The town centre is a 1960s design, and considered by many to be in need of a major refurbishment. The Borough Council is working in partnership with the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership (Legal & General
and Schroders
) to regenerate the town centre with new shops and facilities.
At the heart of most Bracknell neighbourhoods is a church, a small parade of shops, a primary school, a community centre and a pub. There is a coffee shop run by a church in Crown Wood School (part of Easthampstead Baptist Church). The neighbourhoods varied in population from 3,000 to 9,000. The plans included pedestrianisation, the construction of a ring road, and segregation of industrial areas from residential areas.
A slightly confusing feature of some of the estates is that streets only have names, not titles - in Birch Hill
, Crown Wood, Great Hollands and others there is no 'Road
', 'Avenue
', 'Street
', just 'Frobisher', 'Jameston', 'Juniper', 'Jevington'. The residential streets are, however, named in alphabetical order in Great Hollands
and Wildridings
, with As, through Ds, such as Donnybrook, in Hanworth
, Js, such as 'Jameston', 'Juniper' and 'Jevington' in Birch Hill
.
The town was successful in attracting high-tech industries, and has become home to companies such as Panasonic
, Fujitsu
(formerly ICL) and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Dell
, Hewlett-Packard
, Siemens
(originally Nixdorf
), Honeywell
, Cable and Wireless, Avnet Technology Solutions
and Novell
. Its success subsequently spread into the surrounding Thames Valley
or M4 corridor
, attracting IT
firms such as Cable and Wireless, DEC
(subsequently Hewlett-Packard
), Microsoft
, Sharp Telecommunications
, Sun Microsystems
and Cognos
.
The Southern Industrial Area houses the head office of Waitrose
. The 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) site which houses the Waitrose head office also houses the central distribution centre. Waitrose has operated from the town since the 1970s. The town is also home to the UK headquarters of BMW Group
.
Manufacturing industry has largely disappeared since the 1980s. Former significant sites included Clifford's Dairy in Downshire Way and British Aerospace
(originally Sperry Gyroscope
) now occupied by Arlington Square. The Thomas Lawrence brickworks on the north side of the town was famous for 'red rubber' bricks to be found in the Royal Albert Hall
and Westminster Cathedral
, and in restoration work at 10 Downing Street
and Hampton Court Palace
.
The most visible landmark in the town centre is Winchester House, formerly owned by 3M
and informally known as the "3M Building", as it had the 3M logo in large illuminated red letters in a prominent place at the top of the building. It is a 12-storey structure and it can be seen from miles around. Today it stands as a decaying monument and a bad example of brutalist architecture. It used to house the company's UK headquarters before being abandoned in favour of new premises in Farley Wood
on the town's northern edge in 2004 – since then, the building has had the 3M logo removed and has been heavily vandalised inside. It is also due for demolition. The town was also the home of Racal
and Ferranti Computer Systems Ltd
. The Met Office
maintained a large presence in the town until 2003, when it relocated to Exeter
in Devon; however, the junction of the A329 and A3095 is still known as the "Met Office Roundabout".
"Arlington Square", a 22 acre (8ha) business park (first stage completed in 1995), is home to several of the town's businesses. Others are on the Western and Southern industrial areas.
, the entire Easthampstead Rural District became the Bracknell District on 1 April 1974. It was granted borough
status, when it changed its name to Bracknell Forest
in 1988. When Berkshire
County Council
was abolished on 1 April 1998 (and the non-metropolitan county
was reclassified as a ceremonial county), Bracknell Forest
became one of the unitary authorities
which together make up Berkshire.
, Warfield
, Binfield
and Winkfield
. The town's centre lies just north of the railway station
with completely pedestrianized and much undercover shopping around Princess Square, Charles Square and the Broadway. There are 'out-of-town' shops, a multiscreen cinema
and ten pin bowling complex at the Peel Centre. Just to the west are the Western and Southern industrial estates, either side of the railway line. There are many residential suburb
s (see settlement table below) of varying dates, the oldest being Priestwood
and, of course, Easthampstead
village.
The former RAF Staff College
buildings in Harmans Water
, now closed, was part of the Joint Services Command and Staff College
. This site is now, as of 2008, being redeveloped for housing by Wimpey, with an estimated 730 houses on the college's former site. The south-western corner of the town remains rural around Easthampstead Park and the wooded Yew Tree Corner. However, a new housing development called Jennett's Park is currently being built (from 2007) at Peacock Farm and on part of what was historically the grounds of Easthampstead Park. A considerable green area has been lost to houses. However, as of 2010, a new country park adjacent to the development is currently being created. There are large ponds at Farley Wood
and the Easthampstead Mill Pond between Great Hollands
and Wildridings
, and two lakes at South Hill Park
. The Bull Brook emerges above ground just within the bounds of the suburb of Bullbrook
.
In the south of the town is South Hill Park
, a mansion
dating from 1760, although much rebuilt, that now houses a large arts centre
. The Wilde Theatre was opened in 1984, named after Oscar Wilde
who created the character 'Lady Bracknell' in his play The Importance of Being Earnest
. South Hill Park has been home to a number of major music festivals over the years:
Bracknell has been used in the filming of many TV shows and films, such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
(Martins Heron
) and Time Bandits
(Birch Hill
). Bracknell is given the name 'Laxton' in the TV detective series Pie in the Sky and Waterside Park was used for the exterior of the police HQ in the same series. Bracknell has also featured in the 1991 Roger Daltrey
film Buddy's Song. The Offence
(1972), a psychological thriller with Sean Connery
and Ian Bannen
, was filmed in Bracknell. There are scenes in the town centre, on Broadway, Charles Square and Market Street. The flat for Connery's character was filmed at the listed Point Royal, and the bulk of the outdoor scenes were taken around Wild Ridings, specifically Arncliffe, Crossfell, Mill Pond and Mill Lane.
Bracknell is featured in the PlayStation 3 title "Resistance: Fall of Man" set in 1951, as the location at which power conduits travel deep underground South East England
to power the Chimeran fortresses. It also featured in the sequel "Resistance:2" with a similar role.
Tracy Beaker
actress Dani Harmer
was brought up in Bracknell.
and Martins Heron
, both of which are on the Waterloo to Reading Line
, originally built by the London and South Western Railway
and now operated by South West Trains
. As a consequence of the frequent service on this line, Bracknell is now a major commuter centre with its residents travelling in both directions (westwards to Reading
and eastwards to London (Waterloo)).
The town has good road links and is situated at the end of the A329(M), mid-way between Junction 3 of the M3 and Junction 10 of the M4 motorway
s. A proposed motorway link between the M3 and the M4 – to be called the M31
– would have passed to the west of the town centre, but only the section that is now the A329(M) and the A3290 was built.
Local bus services are provided by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
, Courtney Coaches
and Thames Travel
.
jan2006.jpg)
Bracknell Town F.C.
are members of the Southern Football League
Division One South & West, and play their home matches at Larges Lane. The Bracknell Bees Ice Hockey Club
are former national champions, who currently play in the English Premier League. The Bracknell Blazers are the 2009 BBF National League
champions. The town is also represented by teams playing rugby, hockey and cricket.
The town has a large leisure centre, which includes swimming and athletics facilities, whilst there is also the Coral Reef Water Park, the Downshire Golf Complex, the Bracknell Lawn Tennis Club, and Esporta, the Royal County of Berkshire Club. The John Nike
Leisuresport Complex houses a dry ski slope and an ice rink, and there are 2600 acres (10.5 km²) of Crown Estate woodland at the Look Out Discovery Centre. A number of organisations are active in the area, including several troops of Scouts and the Bracknell Forest Lions Club, which was formed in 1968 to help those in need.
, Garth Hill College
and Ranelagh Church of England School
. Bracknell and Wokingham College
of further education is also based in the area.
The University of Reading
is only 8 miles (12.9 km) to the northwest.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Borough of Bracknell Forest
Bracknell Forest
Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority and borough in Berkshire in southern England. It covers the towns of Bracknell, North Ascot, Sandhurst, Crowthorne and surrounding villages and hamlets.-History:...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies 11 miles (17.7 km) to the south-east of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, 10 miles (16.1 km) southwest of Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
and 28 miles (45.1 km) west of central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The town has a population of 50,131.
The name Bracknell is first recorded in a Winkfield Boundary Charter of AD 942 as Braccan heal, and may mean "Nook of land belonging to a man called Bracca", from the Old English Braccan (genitive singular of a personal name) + heal, healh (a corner, nook or secret place). An early form of the town's name, Brakenhale, still survives as the name of one of its schools.
The town is surrounded, on the east and south, by the vast expanse of Swinley Woods and Crowthorne
Crowthorne
Crowthorne is also a suburb of Johannesburg, South AfricaCrowthorne is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire. It has a population of 6,711...
Woods. The urban area has absorbed parts of many local outlying areas including Warfield
Warfield
Warfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire and the Borough of Bracknell Forest.-Geography:Warfield is a mostly rural parish made up of a number of small settlements...
, Winkfield
Winkfield
Winkfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest unitary authority of Berkshire, England.-Geography:According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 15,271...
and Binfield
Binfield
Binfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest borough of Berkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it has a population of 7,475...
.
History
The town covers all of the old village of EasthampsteadEasthampstead
Easthampstead is today a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene...
(though not all of the old parish) and the hamlet of Ramslade
Harmans Water
Harmans Water is a suburb of Bracknell in Berkshire, England.The settlement lies approximately south-east of the town centre, to the east of the A322 road and close to Lily Hill Park and Martins Heron....
. Easthampstead has a very long history. There is a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
round barrow
Round barrow
Round barrows are one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe they are found in many parts of the world because of their simple construction and universal purpose....
at Bill Hill. Easthampstead Park
Easthampstead Park
Easthampstead Park is a Victorian mansion in the civil parish of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire. It is currently a conference centre.-Location:...
was a favoured royal hunting lodge in Windsor Forest and Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
was banished there until her divorce was finalised. It was later the home of the Trumbulls
William Trumbull
Sir William Trumbull was an English statesman who held high office as a member of the First Whig Junto.-Biography:...
who were patrons of Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
from Binfield.
To the north-east of the town is to be found the Quelm Stone, a standing stone
Standing stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
, and to the south-west is Caesar's Camp, an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort.
One of the oldest buildings in the town is the 'Old Manor' public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, a 17th century brick manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
featuring a number of priest hole
Priest hole
"Priest hole" is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558....
s. Next door once stood the 'Hind's Head' coaching inn, where it is said Dick Turpin
Dick Turpin
Richard "Dick" Turpin was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's profession as a butcher early in life, but by the early 1730s he had joined a gang of deer thieves, and later became a poacher,...
used to drink. It is believed that there were once underground tunnels between the two, along which the famous highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
could escape from the authorities.
It was at Bracknell, in 1723, that a troop of mounted Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
had a pitched battle with an 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 finally caught some 29 men.
Surviving old pubs are the Old Manor, the Red Lion and the Bull, all timber-framed and dating from before the 18th century. In front of the Bull stands one of Bracknell's many unusual fountains: a large rotating granite ball suspended in a pool of water. Not far away, in Charles Square, is a large clock-fountain.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
is said to have visited South Hill Park
South Hill Park
South Hill Park is a site that lies in the Birch Hill estate to the south of Bracknell town centre, in Berkshire, England.-History:The original South Hill Park mansion was built in 1760 for William Watts for his retirement from service as a senior official of the Bengal Government...
but this has never been verified. It is believed he wrote his short story; the Selfish Giant, whilst in the gardens. Furthermore he named a character Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
.
The oldest place of worship in the town is the parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene
St Michael and St Mary Magdalene
The Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene, is the Parish Church of Easthampstead, Berkshire. The parish of Easthampstead is one of the largest parishes in the Church of England. The ethos of the parish is one of traditional worship allied to a liberal theology and inclusive approach to both...
in Easthampstead
Easthampstead
Easthampstead is today a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene...
. There has been a church there since Saxon times
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
, although the present building dates from the mid 19th century, except for the lower portions of the Tudor tower. Holy Trinity Church near the town centre was built in 1851.
New town
Bracknell was designated a new townNew towns in the United Kingdom
Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the...
in 1949, in the aftermath of the Second World War. The site was originally a village cum small town in the civil parish of Warfield
Warfield
Warfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire and the Borough of Bracknell Forest.-Geography:Warfield is a mostly rural parish made up of a number of small settlements...
in the Easthampstead Rural District
Easthampstead Rural District
Easthampstead was a rural district in Berkshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Easthampstead rural sanitary district.The district originally covered the civil parishes of*Binfield...
. Very little of the original Bracknell is left. The location was preferred to White Waltham
White Waltham
White Waltham is a village and civil parish, west of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. It has a population of 2,875, and is the location of White Waltham Airfield.-Extent:...
, which was also considered, because the Bracknell site avoided encroaching on good quality agricultural land. It also had the additional advantage of being on a railway line.
The new town was planned for 25,000 people; it was intended to occupy over 1,000 hectares (about 6 square miles) of land in and around 'Old Bracknell' in the area now occupied by Priestwood, Easthampstead, Bullbrook and Harman's Water. The existing town centre and industrial areas were to be retained with new industry brought in to provide jobs. However, the town has since expanded far beyond its intended size into farmland to the south, and major expansion is now, as of 2008, under way (Jennetts Park ) to the west of the town at Peacock Farm and on the site of the former RAF Staff College.
The town centre is a 1960s design, and considered by many to be in need of a major refurbishment. The Borough Council is working in partnership with the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership (Legal & General
Legal & General
Legal & General Group Plc , commonly known as Legal & General, is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products include life insurance, general insurance, pensions and investments. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Egypt, France, Germany,...
and Schroders
Schroders
Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company with over 200 years of experience in the world's financial markets. The company employs 2,905 people worldwide who are operating from 32 offices in 25 different countries around Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East...
) to regenerate the town centre with new shops and facilities.
At the heart of most Bracknell neighbourhoods is a church, a small parade of shops, a primary school, a community centre and a pub. There is a coffee shop run by a church in Crown Wood School (part of Easthampstead Baptist Church). The neighbourhoods varied in population from 3,000 to 9,000. The plans included pedestrianisation, the construction of a ring road, and segregation of industrial areas from residential areas.
A slightly confusing feature of some of the estates is that streets only have names, not titles - in Birch Hill
Birch Hill
Birch Hill is a southern suburb of Bracknell, originally part of the now-defunct civil parish of Easthampstead, in the English county of Berkshire....
, Crown Wood, Great Hollands and others there is no 'Road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
', 'Avenue
Street name
A street name or odonym is an identifying name given to a street. The street name usually forms part of the address...
', 'Street
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
', just 'Frobisher', 'Jameston', 'Juniper', 'Jevington'. The residential streets are, however, named in alphabetical order in Great Hollands
Great Hollands
The development of Great Hollands neighbourhood was originally closely linked with the growth of the Bracknell company, Sperry, which was at the time Bracknell's largest employer. The only memory now left of this company is the concrete gyroscope, which is situated on one of the roundabouts on the...
and Wildridings
Wildridings
Wildridings is a suburb of Bracknell, in Berkshire, England.The settlement lies between the A329 and A3095 roads and is approximately south-west of Bracknell town centre....
, with As, through Ds, such as Donnybrook, in Hanworth
Hanworth
Hanworth lies to the south east of Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow. The name is thought to come from the Anglo Saxon words “haen” and “worth”, meaning “small homestead”....
, Js, such as 'Jameston', 'Juniper' and 'Jevington' in Birch Hill
Birch Hill
Birch Hill is a southern suburb of Bracknell, originally part of the now-defunct civil parish of Easthampstead, in the English county of Berkshire....
.
Regeneration
Because of Bracknell's age, it was decided that it should undergo renovation. Designs and plans were submitted and rejected first time round. The council went for a second attempt and were accepted, work was due to commence early in 2008 but due to the global credit crises it appears that plans have been postponed until a more suitable time, although in January 2009 it was still publicly stated as being planned. The cost is estimated at around £750 million. It is hoped that the regeneration will provide brand new services, a completely redeveloped town centre, 1,000 new homes and new police and bus stations.Business
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
, Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
(formerly ICL) and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
(originally Nixdorf
Nixdorf Computer AG
Nixdorf Computer AG was a computer company founded by Heinz Nixdorf in 1952. Headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, it became the fourth largest computer company in Europe, and a worldwide specialist in banking and point-of-sale systems...
), Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
, Cable and Wireless, Avnet Technology Solutions
Avnet
Avnet, Inc. is a technology Business-to-business B2B distributor headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Electronics Supply & Manufacturing magazine reports that Avnet Inc., a Fortune 500 company, may be the world's largest franchised distributor of electronic components and subsystems...
and Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
. Its success subsequently spread into the surrounding Thames Valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
or M4 corridor
M4 corridor
The M4 corridor is the area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. The area is a major hub for high-technology companies...
, attracting IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
firms such as Cable and Wireless, DEC
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
(subsequently Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
), Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Sharp Telecommunications
Sharp Corporation
is a Japanese multinational corporation that designs and manufactures electronic products. Headquartered in Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan, Sharp employs more than 55,580 people worldwide as of June 2011. The company was founded in September 1912 and takes its name from one of its founder's first...
, Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
and Cognos
Cognos
Cognos was an Ottawa, Ontario-based company making business intelligence and performance management software. Founded in 1969, at its peak Cognos employed almost 3,500 people and served more than 23,000 customers in over 135 countries.Originally Quasar Systems Limited, it adopted the Cognos...
.
The Southern Industrial Area houses the head office of Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
. The 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) site which houses the Waitrose head office also houses the central distribution centre. Waitrose has operated from the town since the 1970s. The town is also home to the UK headquarters of BMW Group
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
.
Manufacturing industry has largely disappeared since the 1980s. Former significant sites included Clifford's Dairy in Downshire Way and British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
(originally Sperry Gyroscope
Sperry Corporation
Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century...
) now occupied by Arlington Square. The Thomas Lawrence brickworks on the north side of the town was famous for 'red rubber' bricks to be found in the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
and Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
, and in restoration work at 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
and Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
.
The most visible landmark in the town centre is Winchester House, formerly owned by 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
and informally known as the "3M Building", as it had the 3M logo in large illuminated red letters in a prominent place at the top of the building. It is a 12-storey structure and it can be seen from miles around. Today it stands as a decaying monument and a bad example of brutalist architecture. It used to house the company's UK headquarters before being abandoned in favour of new premises in Farley Wood
Farley Wood
Farley Wood is a suburb in the civil parish of Binfield, to the north east of Bracknell, in the English county of Berkshire. Farley Wood is dominated by Farley Copse , a large woodland on the slopes falling away from Farley Hall and Farley Moor, two large Victorian houses.Following the building in...
on the town's northern edge in 2004 – since then, the building has had the 3M logo removed and has been heavily vandalised inside. It is also due for demolition. The town was also the home of Racal
Racal
Racal Electronics plc was once the third-largest British electronics firm. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Racal was a diversified company, offering products including: as voice and data recorders; point of sale terminals; laboratory instruments;...
and Ferranti Computer Systems Ltd
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
. The Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
maintained a large presence in the town until 2003, when it relocated to Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
in Devon; however, the junction of the A329 and A3095 is still known as the "Met Office Roundabout".
"Arlington Square", a 22 acre (8ha) business park (first stage completed in 1995), is home to several of the town's businesses. Others are on the Western and Southern industrial areas.
Local government
Bracknell was made a civil parish in its own right in 1955. It has a town council. Under the Local Government Act 1972Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, the entire Easthampstead Rural District became the Bracknell District on 1 April 1974. It was granted borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
status, when it changed its name to Bracknell Forest
Bracknell Forest
Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority and borough in Berkshire in southern England. It covers the towns of Bracknell, North Ascot, Sandhurst, Crowthorne and surrounding villages and hamlets.-History:...
in 1988. When Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
County Council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
was abolished on 1 April 1998 (and the non-metropolitan county
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England
Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of subdivisions of England used for the purposes of local government outside Greater London. As originally constituted, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties each consisted of multiple districts, had a county council and...
was reclassified as a ceremonial county), Bracknell Forest
Bracknell Forest
Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority and borough in Berkshire in southern England. It covers the towns of Bracknell, North Ascot, Sandhurst, Crowthorne and surrounding villages and hamlets.-History:...
became one of the unitary authorities
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
which together make up Berkshire.
Geography
The town covers areas previously in the parishes of EasthampsteadEasthampstead
Easthampstead is today a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene...
, Warfield
Warfield
Warfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire and the Borough of Bracknell Forest.-Geography:Warfield is a mostly rural parish made up of a number of small settlements...
, Binfield
Binfield
Binfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest borough of Berkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it has a population of 7,475...
and Winkfield
Winkfield
Winkfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest unitary authority of Berkshire, England.-Geography:According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 15,271...
. The town's centre lies just north of the railway station
Bracknell railway station
Bracknell railway station is a railway station serving the town of Bracknell in Berkshire, England. The station, and all trains calling there, are operated by South West Trains. It is on the London Waterloo-Reading line....
with completely pedestrianized and much undercover shopping around Princess Square, Charles Square and the Broadway. There are 'out-of-town' shops, a multiscreen cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
and ten pin bowling complex at the Peel Centre. Just to the west are the Western and Southern industrial estates, either side of the railway line. There are many residential suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s (see settlement table below) of varying dates, the oldest being Priestwood
Priestwood
Priestwood is a suburb of Bracknell, Berkshire about northwest of the town centre.The Church of England parish church of Saint Andrew was designed by the architect H.G.W. Drinkwater in a simple Gothic Revival style and built in 1888. St...
and, of course, Easthampstead
Easthampstead
Easthampstead is today a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene...
village.
The former RAF Staff College
RAF Staff College, Bracknell
The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air Force staff college active for most of the second half of the 20th century. Its role was the training of staff officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters...
buildings in Harmans Water
Harmans Water
Harmans Water is a suburb of Bracknell in Berkshire, England.The settlement lies approximately south-east of the town centre, to the east of the A322 road and close to Lily Hill Park and Martins Heron....
, now closed, was part of the Joint Services Command and Staff College
Joint Services Command and Staff College
Joint Services Command and Staff College is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving officers of other states.-History:JSCSC combined the single...
. This site is now, as of 2008, being redeveloped for housing by Wimpey, with an estimated 730 houses on the college's former site. The south-western corner of the town remains rural around Easthampstead Park and the wooded Yew Tree Corner. However, a new housing development called Jennett's Park is currently being built (from 2007) at Peacock Farm and on part of what was historically the grounds of Easthampstead Park. A considerable green area has been lost to houses. However, as of 2010, a new country park adjacent to the development is currently being created. There are large ponds at Farley Wood
Farley Wood
Farley Wood is a suburb in the civil parish of Binfield, to the north east of Bracknell, in the English county of Berkshire. Farley Wood is dominated by Farley Copse , a large woodland on the slopes falling away from Farley Hall and Farley Moor, two large Victorian houses.Following the building in...
and the Easthampstead Mill Pond between Great Hollands
Great Hollands
The development of Great Hollands neighbourhood was originally closely linked with the growth of the Bracknell company, Sperry, which was at the time Bracknell's largest employer. The only memory now left of this company is the concrete gyroscope, which is situated on one of the roundabouts on the...
and Wildridings
Wildridings
Wildridings is a suburb of Bracknell, in Berkshire, England.The settlement lies between the A329 and A3095 roads and is approximately south-west of Bracknell town centre....
, and two lakes at South Hill Park
South Hill Park
South Hill Park is a site that lies in the Birch Hill estate to the south of Bracknell town centre, in Berkshire, England.-History:The original South Hill Park mansion was built in 1760 for William Watts for his retirement from service as a senior official of the Bengal Government...
. The Bull Brook emerges above ground just within the bounds of the suburb of Bullbrook
Bullbrook
Bullbrook is a suburb of Bracknell, in the English county of Berkshire, formerly part of the parish of Winkfield.The settlement lies largely north of the A329 road and borders begin immediately east of Bracknell town centre....
.
Arts
South Hill Park
South Hill Park is a site that lies in the Birch Hill estate to the south of Bracknell town centre, in Berkshire, England.-History:The original South Hill Park mansion was built in 1760 for William Watts for his retirement from service as a senior official of the Bengal Government...
, a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
dating from 1760, although much rebuilt, that now houses a large arts centre
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
. The Wilde Theatre was opened in 1984, named after Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
who created the character 'Lady Bracknell' in his play The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
. South Hill Park has been home to a number of major music festivals over the years:
- 1975 - 1990s Bracknell Jazz FestivalBracknell Jazz FestivalThe Bracknell Jazz Festival was a major showcase for British modern jazz in the 1980s. The festival was known for attracting a largish audience for free improvisation, modern jazz composition and all kinds of British modern jazz in general....
- 1970s - 1980s Bracknell Folk Festival ("The Handsome Mouldiwarp Festival")
- 1988 - Womad Festival
- 1980s - 1990s - Bracknell Music Festival / South Hill Park Festival
- 2000s - present - Big Day Out festival, a free, annual World MusicWorld musicWorld music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
and acousticAcoustic musicAcoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
/folkFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
festival
Bracknell has been used in the filming of many TV shows and films, such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series,...
(Martins Heron
Martins Heron
Martins Heron is a leafy suburban area in the civil parish of Winkfield, on the eastern edge of Bracknell ....
) and Time Bandits
Time Bandits
Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
(Birch Hill
Birch Hill
Birch Hill is a southern suburb of Bracknell, originally part of the now-defunct civil parish of Easthampstead, in the English county of Berkshire....
). Bracknell is given the name 'Laxton' in the TV detective series Pie in the Sky and Waterside Park was used for the exterior of the police HQ in the same series. Bracknell has also featured in the 1991 Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
film Buddy's Song. The Offence
The Offence
The Offence is a 1972 drama film, based upon the acclaimed 1968 stage play This Story of Yours by John Hopkins, directed by Sidney Lumet under the working title Something Like the Truth. It stars Sean Connery as police detective Johnson, who kills Kenneth Baxter , a suspected child molester, while...
(1972), a psychological thriller with Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
and Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,...
, was filmed in Bracknell. There are scenes in the town centre, on Broadway, Charles Square and Market Street. The flat for Connery's character was filmed at the listed Point Royal, and the bulk of the outdoor scenes were taken around Wild Ridings, specifically Arncliffe, Crossfell, Mill Pond and Mill Lane.
Bracknell is featured in the PlayStation 3 title "Resistance: Fall of Man" set in 1951, as the location at which power conduits travel deep underground South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
to power the Chimeran fortresses. It also featured in the sequel "Resistance:2" with a similar role.
Tracy Beaker
The Story of Tracy Beaker (TV series)
The Story of Tracy Beaker was a television programme adapted from the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson. It ran on CBBC for five series, from 2002 to 2006 and also contained a feature length episode, Tracy Beaker's Movie of Me, broadcast in 2004, as well as a week of interactive episodes...
actress Dani Harmer
Dani Harmer
Danielle Jane "Dani" Harmer is an English television actress and singer. Harmer is best known as the title character in the UK television programme The Story of Tracy Beaker/Tracy Beaker Returns, and as Molly Venables in the BBC sitcom After You've Gone...
was brought up in Bracknell.
Transport
Bracknell has two railway stations, BracknellBracknell railway station
Bracknell railway station is a railway station serving the town of Bracknell in Berkshire, England. The station, and all trains calling there, are operated by South West Trains. It is on the London Waterloo-Reading line....
and Martins Heron
Martins Heron railway station
Martins Heron railway station is a railway station in the suburb of Martins Heron, Winkfield on the eastern edge of the town of Bracknell in Berkshire, England. It is on the London Waterloo-Reading line, between Ascot and Bracknell...
, both of which are on the Waterloo to Reading Line
Waterloo to Reading Line
The Waterloo to Reading Line is a National Rail suburban electric railway line running generally westwards from London, England. It is operated by South West Trains...
, originally built by the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
and now operated by South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
. As a consequence of the frequent service on this line, Bracknell is now a major commuter centre with its residents travelling in both directions (westwards to Reading
Reading railway station
Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames...
and eastwards to London (Waterloo)).
The town has good road links and is situated at the end of the A329(M), mid-way between Junction 3 of the M3 and Junction 10 of the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
s. A proposed motorway link between the M3 and the M4 – to be called the M31
M31 motorway
The M31 motorway was planned as a Reading to M3 motorway which was dubbed the 'M3 – M4 link motorway'. It would have provided a direct high speed route between the two motorways...
– would have passed to the west of the town centre, but only the section that is now the A329(M) and the A3290 was built.
Local bus services are provided by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley is a bus operator serving Bracknell, Slough and Wokingham, in England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America...
, Courtney Coaches
Courtney Coaches
Courtney Coaches are a bus operator baseed in Bracknell, Berkshire, England. They operate a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in and around Bracknell and Maidenhead...
and Thames Travel
Thames Travel
Thames Travel is a bus operator based in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, in England. It is the third largest bus company in the county It operates a fleet of around 34 vehicles, and employs 75 staff. Running services across the Thames region, the company carries approximately 1.25 million passengers a year...
.
Sport and leisure
Bracknell Town F.C.
Bracknell Town Football Club are a football club based in Bracknell, Berkshire, England. The club was formed in 1896. The team are currently in the Hellenic Football League Premier Division.-History:...
are members of the Southern Football League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Division One South & West, and play their home matches at Larges Lane. The Bracknell Bees Ice Hockey Club
Bracknell Bees
The Bracknell Bees are an ice hockey team from Bracknell, Berkshire, UK.-Early years:The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, under the ownership of John Nike OBE. Bees began life in the Heineken League Division Two, under the leadership of former Durham Wasps and Nottingham Panthers forward, Jamie...
are former national champions, who currently play in the English Premier League. The Bracknell Blazers are the 2009 BBF National League
British Baseball Federation
The British Baseball Federation is the national governing body of baseball within the United Kingdom, founded in .BBF is a federated member of both the Confederation of European Baseball and the International Baseball Federation...
champions. The town is also represented by teams playing rugby, hockey and cricket.
The town has a large leisure centre, which includes swimming and athletics facilities, whilst there is also the Coral Reef Water Park, the Downshire Golf Complex, the Bracknell Lawn Tennis Club, and Esporta, the Royal County of Berkshire Club. The John Nike
John Nike
John Nike OBE is a Bracknell-based leisure and hotels entrepreneur.He used to own the Thames Valley Tigers basketball team. With his family, he is worth £92 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2006....
Leisuresport Complex houses a dry ski slope and an ice rink, and there are 2600 acres (10.5 km²) of Crown Estate woodland at the Look Out Discovery Centre. A number of organisations are active in the area, including several troops of Scouts and the Bracknell Forest Lions Club, which was formed in 1968 to help those in need.
Education
The area has various schools including Brakenhale School, Easthampstead Park SchoolEasthampstead Park School
Easthampstead Park School is a Community, comprehensive school located in Ringmead, Bracknell, Berkshire, taking both boys and girls from ages 11–18.The headteacher is Gordon Cunningham....
, Garth Hill College
Garth Hill College
Garth Hill College is a technology college in Bracknell, England, it was formed in 1956 and is on the same site as Wick Hill Centre, a college linked with Garth...
and Ranelagh Church of England School
Ranelagh Church of England School
Ranelagh School is a Church of England school close to the centre of Bracknell. It is one of the six secondary schools in Bracknell Forest.-Admissions:...
. Bracknell and Wokingham College
Bracknell and Wokingham College
Bracknell & Wokingham College is a general college of further education, offering courses for school leavers, adults and employers training their staff, and based in Bracknell, Berkshire, England. The college became Bracknell & Wokingham College in 1996....
of further education is also based in the area.
The University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
is only 8 miles (12.9 km) to the northwest.
External links
- Bracknell Forest Council
- Bracknell Town Council
- Royal Berkshire History: Bracknell
- Bracknell Town Centre
- Bracknell Regeneration
- The Bracknell Harbinger
- Great Hollands - Bracknell community website
- A video tour of some town centre buildings scheduled for demolition