We are proud to say that over the last 5 years we have donated over £40,000 to local charities and local projects.
Below are just a few of the ways Bramshott Open Gardens supports our local community.
If you represent a local charity or organisation and would like to apply for funding from Bramshott Open Gardens please complete the form HERE.
St Mary’s Church Bramshott – our beautiful village church which sits at the centre of our Bramshottt Open Gardens events. We are grateful to have such a wonderful, historic church which has also been used for Barn Dances and Jubilee celebrations as well as our local lending library. Funds raised help towards its upkeep which in the past has included a new roof, a new kitchen area and more recently updated lighting. Funds have also been used to support its sister Church, Liphook Church Centre including funding a new carpet for its entrance area in 2o22.
Bramshott Sunken Lanes Project – if you have been to one of our events you will have undoubtedly walked down our ancient Sunken Lanes. Funds received pay for professional tree surgeons to work with villagers to help manage and clear the banks and overhanging trees. This ensures enough light penetrates the canopy to encourage new growth and shoots which will in time help to strengthen the banks themselves and so help protect them for future generations.
Midhurst Macmillan Service – we are proud to have supported the Midhurst branch of Macmillan for many years and with a change in how they are funded they need our help more than ever. Please read on for more information.
Rosemary Foundation – another wonderful local palliative care charity that has provided support to local Bramshott residents.
Renovation of the Bramshott War Memorial in 2022 – the stone around the memorial was beautifully restored by local volunteers in recent years and Bramshott Open Gardens helped fund the materials.
Bramshott Education Trust – we regularly support this local charity that helps young people under 25 years in the Bramshott Parish (the Parish includes Liphook, Bramshott, Passfield, Conford and parts of Hammer Vale located in Hampshire). The Trust was set up with the proceeds of the sale of Bramshott Boys School with the aim of providing financial support for educational endeavours.
Liphook Food Bank – the Food Bank based at Liphook Junior School provides weekly food parcels and signposting advice to a broader range of agencies and services to support those families and individuals who are struggling financially and we have made regular donations since they set up during the Covid pandemic.
Liphook Day Centre – also known as the Peak Centre, provides the elderly residents of Liphook with a place to spend a day and share time with others and have a freshly cooked meal
In addition we have made donations to help Liphook Football Club, Liphook Scouts and Guides and provided a new Maple tree in the Canadian War Graves Ceremony.
Local Village Projects have included Creation of a memorial bench carved from a fallen oak tree in the village triangle which includes a time capsule, ongoing support for the production of our ‘Bugle’ village magazine, installation of Christmas Lights and a new Village Notice Board.
St Mary’s Bramshott
St Mary’s, Bramshott is the ancient church in the original centre of the village, appropriately sited on the corner of Church Road and Church Lane, and regularly attended by a loyal local congregation who enjoy the traditional form of Anglican service.
The church building itself is set above the sunken lanes and has a beautiful open churchyard of about 5 acres, making it one of the largest in Southern England. The churchyard includes over 300 WW1 Canadian war graves, beautifully arranged in a formal setting adjoining the wall of the ancient Bramshott Manor. The chancel and transepts of the church date from 1220, whilst the nave was rebuilt in the 1870s
The age of this important building means there is a constant and substantial requriement for repairs and maintenance, and recent projects include an overhaul of the aged heating system and various internal improvements. In past years the Open Gardens weekend has helped raise funds toward upkeep of the bells, and the famous church clock, which keeps accurate time and, appropriately in its historic context, faces Bramshott Manor.
Long-term repairs were needed for the church roof in 2013, with an estimate for the work totalling £243,000. A fundraising committee was quickly established, and through the hard work and generosity of the committee, volunteers, Open Garden visitors, local benefactors and some grant funds, this total was reached and the work was completed in early 2014.
Since then Bramshott Open Gardens has helped fund a new kitchen area in the Church and most recently in 2023 funded the cost of new LED lighting which has helped the Church cut its electricity costs. In 2024 money has already been earmarked to support the trimming of trees around the lych gate and the cemetery.
Please click here to see how you can help St Mary’s
Bramshott Ancient Sunken Lanes Project
Theories differ as to the origins of the ancient sunken lanes that criss cross this part of Northeast Hampshire. As the area has been continuously inhabited since before the Iron Age, it’s easy to imagine that the wear of feet, animals, and carriage wheels over millennia have worn theses timeless ruts into our beautiful landscape. They are certainly very atmospheric throughout the seasons and give Bramshott and other local villages a very distinctive character.
Bramshott itself boasts several sunken lanes, including Church Lane, Woolmer Lane, and Rectory Lane. Topped by beeches, oaks and hollies, these deep passageways and lanes are an obvious and symbolic reminder of the ancient heritage of this area, and with increased traffic levels over the last few decades have certainly proved memorable to local drivers!
The Sunken Lanes Project is an offshoot of the Bramshott and Liphook Preservation Society, and aligned with the River Wey Trust. The Project was established in the early 1980’s to help preserve and protect these ancient ways, and regularly arranges volunteer weekends, aided by professional tree surgeons, to help manage and clear the banks and overhanging trees. This also ensures enough light penetrates the canopy to encourage new growth and shoots which will in time help to strengthen the banks themselves and so help protect them for future generations.
The “original cause” of the sunken lanes was also remarked upon by the author and renowned naturalist Gilbert White, who is often cited as the world’s original ecologist. He is said to have stated that the ugly appearance of the damage caused not only by water erosion but also by the amount of traffic that used the area, which does ‘affright the ladies . . . and make timid horsemen shudder‘. !
The Sunken Lanes Project receives funds from the Bramshott Open Gardens weekend to continue their good works, and help protect this unique environment for present and future generations of residents and visitors.
Midhurst Macmillan Service
The Midhurst Macmillan Service is the local, independent specialist palliative care NHS service. They care for patients with cancer or a life-limiting illness at home wherever possible. A consultant-led team of specialist nurses and doctors, around 750 patients are referred each year from 18 local surgeries over an area of 400 sq. miles of West Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire which includes Liphook and Bramshott. As well as their clinical service they also have a bereavement and counselling service and a team of volunteers to support patients and their families.
The Midhurst Macmillan Service is no longer funded by Macmillan “national” following a change in their funding model but are now funded 60% by the Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) and 40% by a new charity called Midhurst Palliative Care. The new charity needs to raise at least £500,000 per year to match NHS funding and maintain and develop the current service.
They rely more than ever on voluntary donations and community efforts to raise the now much-needed funds to keep Midhurst Macmillan at the heart of our community. Thanks to the support of the Bramshott Open Gardens in the past they have been able to purchase essential equipment, including beds and specialised furniture. Their aspiration now is to further invest in staffing to continue to satisfy the demand from the growing number of patient referrals and also to invest in specialist training for counsellors dealing with bereaved children.
Tel: 01730 811121
Email: SC-TR.MPC-charity@nhs.net
Web: www.mpc-midhurstmacmillan.org
Local Projects
Since 2016 the Committee agreed to also allocate some of the funds raised to purely local projects. The aim is to do some essential repairs and contribute to village improvements, as a way of thanking the whole village of Bramshott for all their hard work over the years.
Results so far:
BOG Marquee – We now own a 10m x 3m marquee which will serve as the Open Gardens Tea Tent, and is also available to local residents to hire for private events.
Wall Repairs – Essential repairs to the ancient stone walling in Bramshott, using locally sourced stone to match the original.
Christmas Lights – A wonderful display of stylish lighting to adorn the oak on the Triangle over the festive season and put a smile on our faces!
Triangle protection – Natural stone bollards placed to protect the Triangle.
Village Notice Board – In partnership with the Parish Council, a new double-sided Notice Board, with one side available to the village for local news and notices.
The Committee also voted to donate to other local projects, including the Bramshott Bugle. The Bugle is a quarterly village gazette produced by local volunteers, and helps to keep our community engaged and in touch.
