BRAMSHOTT Place, the retirement village in Liphook, hosted a talk exploring the history of the buildings at the site and the surrounding area.

Renaissance Villages commissioned historian Adrian Bird, from Bramshott and Liphook Preservation Society, to deliver a talk in the Canada Suite at the village’s on-site clubhouse.

Adrian is a long-standing member and chairman of the society, which runs Liphook Heritage Centre.

In his talk, Adrian explored the history of the Tudor gatehouse which forms the centrepiece of Bramshott Place.

He also talked about the site’s Tudor history, and what life was like when the land was home to a Tudor manor house, as well as the site’s use as a hospital following the First World War.

Adrian said: “It was very interesting to research the history of the Bramshott Place site, particularly of the Tudor gate house. Intriguingly, very little is known about the demise of the Tudor manor house, to which the gate house originally belonged, and why the gate house still stands today.

“At the Liphook Heritage Centre we provide a comprehensive display of the history of Bramshott and Liphook. We are pleased to now have more information to add to the collection about the site of Bramshott Place, and I very much enjoyed sharing this research with a new audience at the village.”

Bramshott Place village manager Stacey Harley said: “The talk was a fantastic way to find out a bit more about the history of the Bramshott Place site which, as we discovered, has a very illustrious past. The residents really enjoyed learning more about this history and particularly about the Tudor gate house which is pride of place at Bramshott Place and cannot be missed by visitors, so we were all fascinated to learn more about it.”

Renaissance Villages events manager Rebecca Parker said: “We are so grateful to Adrian for conducting special research and coming in to do the talk at Bramshott Place. It was wonderful to invite the local community in to the village to learn more about the shared history of the area. The event was so popular that we are going to hold a repeat talk for those who didn’t manage to secure a place for this event.

“We are also going to work with Adrian to summarise his research into a booklet and temporary exhibition that we will hold at the village later this year, with proceeds going towards the Bramshott and Liphook Preservation Society.”