Bratton as a holiday destination

Old postcards show that 100 years ago there had once been a tea garden where the Bratton surgery car park sits today.

How could a small village, with a population of less than 600, possibly have sustained a tea garden? Amazingly, other postcards show that, just across the road at The Duke Inn, there was actually a second tea garden and this one boasted a pair of giant whale jaw bones displayed at their entrance.

 

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Another postcard revealed a holiday chalet had once perched high on the hillside above St James’ Church. Who was staying here and sending postcards home? It would be hard not to wonder how such a small village would come to have all these curious and exotic facilities.

Searching through old newspapers from the early years of the 20th century reveals that these were just a few pieces of a puzzle that could be put together to create a remarkable picture of an era when the apparently ‘sleepy’ village of Bratton was considered a pleasure and health destination that attracted unimaginable numbers of day-trippers and holidaymakers.

The story of how this happened and the two men who seized upon the opportunity, can now be read at the Bratton History Association website: https://www.brattonhistory.co.uk/

Bob Pearce – Bratton History Association