Brill Village Community Herd

Brill is a hilltop village with a long history. Stone Age,Iron Age and Bronze Age artefacts have been found here. The Romans came, followed it is believed by the Saxons. Edward the Confessor, the 11th. century king, built a hunting lodge here at the centre of what was then Bernwode Forest.

Now its streets are predominately lined with houses and cottages built in the 18th century, many built from Brill brick made in the brickworks from the clay excavated from the common.

Before the arrival of the motor car, Brill's situation on the hill required it to be self sufficient requiring local tradesmen together with many shops and inns to  supply the needs of the population. Now we consider ourselves fortunate in having two shops and two public houses.

Two unusual features of our village are its common, where the cows of the Brill Village Community Herd graze all year and it's windmill.  This is in a prominent position on the common to catch the wind and was built in approximately 1685. This  was recently renovated and is considered to be a fine example of a 'postmill.'