Brambridge is a village in the parish of Colden Common

Colden Common

Colden Common is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, lying just east of the M3 motorway between Winchester and Southampton. The nearest town is Eastleigh to the south west. Colden Common is in the Winchester District. To the east are the South Downs and to the west is the River Itchen...

 in the Winchester District in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, 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...

, north east of Eastleigh

Eastleigh

Eastleigh is a railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough which is part of Southampton Urban Area. The town lies between Southampton and Winchester, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation...

 and close to the River Itchen

River Itchen, Hampshire

The River Itchen is a river in Hampshire, England. It flows from mid-Hampshire to join with Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge in the city of Southampton. The river has a total length of , and is noted as one of England's - if not one of the World's - premier chalk streams for fly fishing,...

. It lies in the south of Twyford

Twyford, Hampshire

For other places of the same name, see Twyford.Twyford is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, approximately three miles south of Winchester and near the M3 motorway and Twyford Down. In 2001, the population of the parish was 1,456...

 civil parish

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...

.

The hamlet of Brambridge was granted by Bishop Richard Foxe

Richard Foxe

Richard Foxe was an English churchman, successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, Lord Privy Seal, and founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.-Life:...

 to the newly-founded Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...

, in the sixteenth century. In 1609-10, Brambridge, with other lands, belonging to three recusant

Recusancy

In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...

s, Ursula Uvedale, Richard Bruning and Thomas Welles was granted to John Pierson. Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 granted Brambridge to Gilbert Welles in 1636 and the property remained in the Welles family until the late eighteenth century, when it passed to a cousin, Walter Smythe.

In the 17th century, the Welles were determined recusants and Swithun Welles was hanged for his faith in 1591. The house was once a refuge for Roman Catholic priests and the family assisted in the clandestine burials of Catholics in the local churchyard.

Brambridge House was the birth place of Maria Anne Fitzherbert

Maria Anne Fitzherbert

Maria Fitzherbert , was the woman with whom the future George IV secretly undertook a form of marriage, and his companion for a large part of his adult life. However the marriage in England was invalid under English civil laws concerning royal marriages...

, Walter Smythe's eldest daughter and the home of the High Sheriff

High Sheriff

A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...

 of Hampshire. There has been a house on the site since the 16th century, although the current building was constructed after the old house burnt down in 1872. One of the rooms in the old Brambridge House was consecrated as a Roman Catholic chapel, but after the first of the Catholic Relief Act

Papists Act 1778

The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain and was the first Act for Catholic Relief. Later in 1778 It was also enacted by the Irish parliament....

s, a small chapel was built in the village and endowed by Mrs. Fitzherbert in about 1782.