Brantham is a village and 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...

 in Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Located in Babergh

Babergh

Babergh is a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council headquarters is based in Hadleigh, whilst its largest town is Sudbury.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Borough of Sudbury, Hadleigh urban district, Cosford Rural District, Melford Rural District and...

 district, it is situated 2 miles (3 km) north of Manningtree

Manningtree

Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It adjoins built-up areas of Lawford to the west and Mistley to the east and the three parishes together are sometimes referred to as "Manningtree".Manningtree is a claimant for the...

 and 9 miles (14 km) south west of Ipswich

Ipswich

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

.

Brant is the Anglo Saxon name for hill and Ham short for Hamlet. Thence deducing the village on the Hill.

Until 1887 the local economy was almost entirely agricultural. This changed in 1887 when British Xylonite Ltd. purchased the 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) Brooklands Farm and built their factory. There was insufficient accommodation available locally for the workforce, so the company also built Brantham New Village consisting of about 60 new houses.

Its medieval parish church of St. Michael and All Angels underwent extensive repairs in 2004 following extensive fund raising efforts and a £23,000 grant from the UK National Lottery.

The village previously had a railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line

Great Eastern Main Line

The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...

, but it was closed as part of the Beeching Axe

Beeching Axe

The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...

.

The village's football club, Brantham Athletic

Brantham Athletic F.C.

Brantham Athletic F.C. is an English football club based in Brantham, Suffolk. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division and play at Brantham Leisure Centre.The club is affiliated to the Suffolk County FA.-History:...

, Compete within the Premier Division of the Eastern Counties League

Eastern Counties Football League

The Eastern Counties Football League is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, northern Essex and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is a feeder to the regional divisions of the Isthmian League and Southern...

.

The village has a unique community spirit whereby local residents collaborate for many charitable events. The Annual Firework Event attracts approximately 2000 annually.

Brantham Leisure Centre is formed as a Community Interest Company and provides a venue for Football, Bowls, Netball, Cricket and Tennis.

The Tudor poet Thomas Tusser lived in Brantham Cattawade and is believed to have written his most famous work "A Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie" at Braham Hall.

Brantham has never had a railway staion, being only 1/2 mile from Manningtree station. Most of the line that runs through the vilage is through a cutting. At one point near Brantham Bull it is the deepest railway cutting in Suffolk. The was a siding going on to Marsh Farm where fresh fruit and vegetables were taken to london, and a siding going into the old BXL plastic factory (now derelict) for loading and unloading materials. Both were disused by the end of the 1930s.

External links

• Brantham Vision of Britain