Key facts
OS Grid Reference: SU158180
What3words: ///division.goodbyes.huddled
Postcode: SP6
Post Town: Fordingbridge
Unitary Authority: Hampshire
Parliamentary Constituency: New Forest West
Breamore
The Hampshire village of Breamore (pronounced Bremmer) has all the ingredients you need to make an idyllic English country village.
Sitting against a backdrop of chalk hills, ancient, grazing marshes, and the banks of the River Avon, the picturesque village near Fordingbridge, has thatched cottages, a Saxon church, an impressive Elizabethan brick manor house, a mysterious maze, 18th Century corn mill, and even village stocks with a whipping post!
The surrounding countryside is spectacular, and parts of the parish fall within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (National Landscape).
Amenities are good, with a well-stocked village shop, the Bat and Ball Inn, the parish church of St Mary, Breamore Primary School, and the well-equipped Hulse Hall, an ideal setting for birthdays, private parties, public meetings and regular village events.
History
Breamore Down, just northwest of the village, has several Bronze Age bowl barrows, and a long barrow known as the Giant’s Grave. Breamore Down also has a mysterious miz-maze, and argument rages as to whether the Bronze Age village residents or mediaeval monks were responsible for the wavy patterns cut in the turf.
The name Breamore was recorded as Brumore in the Domesday Book and may be derived from Old English ‘Brommor’ meaning ‘broom (covered) marsh’.
The manor of Breamore belonged to the Crown. In 1086, it was part of the royal manor of Rockbourne, but passed to the Earls of Devon, lords of the Isle of Wight, in Henry I’s time. After several more changes of hand, Breamore was granted to the Queen consort, Catherine Howard, in 1541, and then to Catherine Parr in 1544.
Breamore Railway Station opened in 1866 and was served by the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway, which connected Salisbury and Poole. It closed in 1964, and the disused station still exists on the road that leads east from the A338.
The church of St Mary’s is a rare Saxon surivor, with later alterations including a Norman porch and 14th Century chancel.
Breamore Priory was founded towards the end of the reign of Henry I. After the dissolution of the priory, the magnificent Breamore House manor was built in 1583 by Queen Elizabeth’s treasurer, William Doddington, in mellow red brick in the classic Elizabethan ‘E’ shape. It was bought in the 18th Century by Sir Edward Hulse, King George II’s physician, and has remained the Hulse family home ever since. The house is open to visitors, who can enjoy beautiful paintings, tapestries, porcelain, 17th Century needlework, period furniture and a rare James I carpet. A 1,000-year-old yew tree stands in the grounds behind the house.
Breamore Marsh is a former manorial green extending to 38 acres of wet meadows, ponds and streams. The marsh has been grazed for centuries by commoners’ stock and geese, and is home to a wealth of wild flowers, dragonflies and damselflies.
Walking and cycling
Being in an outstanding area of natural beauty means there are numerous walks and cycle paths through stunning countryside.
The Breamore Long Walk is a 5.5 mile (8km) walk starting from the Breamore House Tea Room entrance, taking you through the village, across the common and up through the Breamore Estate to the medieval miz-maze and Breamore House. It includes panoramic views out over the surrounding farmland and woodland.
