Bramshill House

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Bramshill House is a Jacobean mansion standing in 269 acres of land in the civil parish of Bramshill in north-east Hampshire in England. It has been the location of the Police Staff College since 1960.

Reference to Bramshill (or Bromeselle) can be traced back to Saxon times. In the 14th century, it was the home of Thomas Foxley, who rebuilt Windsor Castle for the Crown. He appears to have used masons from Windsor in erecting a small castle or fortified manor house at Bramshill. Their work can still be seen in the cellars of the present house. In 1605, Edward Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche of Harringworth, bought the property from Sir Stephen Thornhurst of Agnes Court, Kent. He demolished a large part of the building and began to build the Bramshill house of today. This was completed in 1612. In 1622, while hunting in the park, George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury accidentally shot and killed one of the keepers with his cross-bow. It almost caused his downfall.

In 1699, the property was purchased by Sir John Cope whose family continued to lived there for the next three hundred years. Bramshill is said to be the most haunted house in Hampshire. Its most famous ghost is that of the Mistletoe Bride, thought to have been a member of Sir John's family. Later, the house was the home of Lord Brocket, and of the exiled King Michael I of Romania.