History
The town covers all of the old village of Easthampstead (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 holes. 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.
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