64-410: Painshill (also referred to as "Pains Hill" in some 19th-century texts), near Cobham , Surrey , England , is one of the finest remaining examples of an 18th-century English landscape park . It was designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by Charles Hamilton . The original house built in the park by Hamilton has since been demolished. Painshill is owned by Elmbridge Borough Council and managed by
128-485: A grotto , a Gothic "temple", "ruins" of a Gothic abbey, a Roman mausoleum , and a Gothic tower with a view of the countryside. All these still exist and have been restored, and the hermitage (for which a "hermit" was hired on a seven-year contract, but soon dismissed for absenteeism) and Turkish tent have been recreated. The crystal grotto was restored in 2013, and re-opened by Lady Lucinda Lambton . The Roman "Temple of Bacchus" has been reconstructed (2018), though there
192-486: A Mr Allen, installing water closets ( toilets ) which were designed to a patent obtained by Alexander Cumming in 1775. He found that the current model being installed in London houses had a tendency to freeze in cold weather. Although it was Allen who improved the design by replacing the usual slide valve with a hinged flap that sealed the bottom of the bowl, Bramah obtained the patent for it in 1778, and began making toilets at
256-463: A founding father in industrial quality control. One of Bramah's last inventions was a hydrostatic press capable of uprooting trees. This was put to work at Holt Forest in Hampshire . While superintending this work Bramah caught a cold, which developed into pneumonia. He died at Holt Forest on 9 December 1814. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary's, Paddington . The Brazilian Brahma beer brand
320-402: A full-time day crew together with: The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining %
384-527: A holding of more than 200 acres (81 ha). His creation was among the earliest to reflect the changing fashion in garden design prompted by the Landscape Movement, which started in England in about 1730. Hamilton used what today are called organic gardening and organic lawn management techniques. It represented the move away from geometric formality in garden design to a new naturalistic formula. Many of
448-669: A lower-profile Residents Association. Unlike neighbouring areas in Elmbridge, Residents and amenity groups do not contest local elections in Cobham; occasionally independents have stood, such as in a 2007 by-election. The only non-Conservative elected was a Liberal/Focus councillor, Mike King in 1984 in the Fairmile ward, which includes some high density social and private housing beside the A3 , as well upmarket private estates. Cobham and Downside ward includes
512-423: A machine for automatically printing bank notes with sequential serial numbers (1806), and a machine for making quill pen nibs (1809). He also patented the first extrusion process for making lead pipes and also machinery for making gun stocks (Patent No. 2652). His greatest contribution to engineering was his insistence on quality control. He realised that for engines to succeed, they would have to be machined to
576-504: A much better standard than was the practice. He taught the Cornish engineer Arthur Woolf to machine engines to a close tolerance. This enabled Cornish engines to run with high-pressure steam, vastly increasing their output. Woolf became the leading Cornish steam engineer and his designs were adopted by all the engine designers of the day. The 15-HP engines of Watt and others of circa 1800 gave way to 450-HP engines by 1835. Bramah can be viewed as
640-587: A second patent for a lock design in 1798. Partly due to the precision requirements of his locks, Bramah spent much time developing machine tools to assist manufacturing processes. He relied heavily on the expertise of Henry Maudslay whom he employed in his workshop from the age of 18. Between them they created a number of innovative machines that made the production of Bramah's locks more efficient, and were applicable to other fields of manufacture. Just before Bramah died, his workshops also employed Joseph Clement who among other things made several contributions in
704-603: A triangle between the River Mole to the south, the A3 to the north and a borderline for the most part on the nearside of the (New) London to Guildford railway line to the southeast – directly west of Oxshott . On the southern border is the historic village, Stoke D'Abernon , part of the small post town , which gives its name to the railway station between the two areas on the line mentioned: Cobham & Stoke D'Abernon . The village neighbourhoods of Downside (south) and Fairmile (east). The longstanding built-up areas resemble
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#1732851778150768-583: A workshop in Denmark Street, St Giles . After attending some lectures on technical aspects of locks , Bramah designed a lock of his own, receiving a patent for it in 1784. In the same year he started the Bramah Locks company at 124 Piccadilly, which is today based in Fitzrovia , London and Romford , Essex. The locks produced by his company were famed for their resistance to lock picking and tampering, and
832-727: Is an ancient settlement whose origins can be traced back on the ground through Roman times to the Iron Age . It lay within the Elmbridge hundred . Cobham appears in Domesday Book as Covenham and was held by Chertsey Abbey . Its Domesday assets were: 12½ hides ; 3 mills worth 13s 4d, 10 ploughs , 1 alike unit of meadow , woodland worth 40 hogs . It rendered altogether £14 per year to its feudal system overlords. Historically, Cobham other than outlying farms comprised two developed areas, Street Cobham and Church Cobham. The former lay on
896-804: Is displayed at Brooklands Museum in the same borough. In World War II , after a major aircraft factory, Vickers-Armstrongs , at Brooklands was bombed by the Luftwaffe on 4 September 1940, with heavy loss of life and many more injured, the Vickers Experimental Department was quickly dispersed to secret premises on the Silvermere and Foxwarren Park estates along Redhill Road. Engineer and inventor Barnes Wallis also carried out important trials catapulting models of his 'Upkeep' bouncing bomb across Silvermere Lake around 1942 and conducted spinning trials with larger prototypes at 'Depot W46' (the largest of
960-654: Is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free). The Cobham News & Mail covered local news in the latter part of the 20th century until it closed and was incorporated into the Surrey Advertiser. Cobham is also covered by the Elmbridge Guardian , the Surrey Herald and the Surrey Comet newspapers. Joseph Bramah Joseph Bramah (13 April 1748 – 9 December 1814)
1024-606: Is nearby and Silvermere golf course is located in Redhill Road on the north side of the A3. Cobham has four football clubs: Cobham F.C. , Mole Valley SCR F.C. , Cobham United Football Club and Cobham Town FC (formed 2007). Cobham also has a cricket club, Cobham Avorians, formed in 1928. Avorians was named after its founder, local landowner Edward James Avory, and originally played at the Fairmile Estate before re-locating to Convent Lane on
1088-594: Is now a cast of the Roman statue of Bacchus which it housed, among other antiquities bought on Hamilton's Italian tours. It was sketched in 1770 by the Swedish artist Elias Martin ; he went on to illustrate the 1783 book Bacchi Tempel ("The Temple of Bacchus") by Sweden's national bard, Carl Michael Bellman . Among the original plantings are a number of important specimens including fine examples of Cork Oak , Yew , Beech , Silver Birch and three Cedars of which one, known as
1152-439: Is now open to the public from 2 pm to 5 pm on the second Sunday of each month between April and October, inclusive. St Andrew's Primary School is located in the village as is Cobham Free School which is an all-through school. A local prep school is Feltonfleet School . There are three independent schools: Notre Dame ; ACS (The American Community Schools) Cobham International and Reed's School . Painshill Park
1216-552: Is thought to derive from an Anglo-Saxon landowner either as Cofa's hām or Cofa's hamm . The second part of the name may have originated from the Old English hām meaning a settlement or enclosure, or from hamm meaning land close to water. The area of the village known as Cobham Tilt, is first recorded as la Tilthe in 1328. The name is thought to derive from the Old English Tilthe , meaning "cultivated land". Cobham
1280-506: The Great Cedar is 120 feet (37 m) high and is thought to be the largest Cedar of Lebanon in Europe. In 2010, a conference at Painshill brought together elements of the restoration of this eighteenth-century Landscape Garden. The landscape garden has been a location for film and television production, such as for the grounds of "Bridgeford University" in the 2009 ITV2 series Trinity and
1344-465: The Middle Ages . The mill was in use until 1928, when it became uneconomical to continue operating. Thereafter it was used as a storehouse. During World War II , a Canadian tank collided with the main building, causing much damage. In 1953 the main part of the mill was demolished by Surrey County Council to alleviate traffic congestion on Mill Road. This left just the grist mill standing. In 1973
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#17328517781501408-562: The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG). Charles Hamilton was born in 1704 in Dublin , the 9th son and 14th child of James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn . He was educated at Westminster School and Oxford , and went on two Grand Tours , one in 1725 and a further one in 1732. In 1738 Hamilton began to acquire land at Painshill and, over the years, built up
1472-509: The River Mole . It has a commercial/services High Street , a significant number of primary and private schools and the Painshill landscape park . Cobham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Covenham and in 13th century copies of earlier charters as Coveham . It is recorded as Cobbeham and Cobeham in the 15th century and the first use of the modern spelling "Cobham" is from 1570. The name
1536-482: The civil parish had a population of 7885. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. Cobham is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from Brooklands and played host to associated and its own aviation and motoring activity in the 20th century. Leading motor engineer and car designers Reid Railton and Noel Macklin set up a manufacturing facility, building Railton road cars at the Fairmile Works from 1933 to 1940. An example
1600-536: The Armed Forces . In 1806, the estate was bought by Harvey Christian Combe , a brewer and Lord Mayor of London . The present house was completed in 1873 by his nephew, Charles Combe, to a design by Edward Middleton Barry : It has now been divided into apartments. Painshill Park is a fine 18th-century landscape garden, restored from dereliction since 1980. Painshill House dates from the 18th century and has also been divided into apartments. Two other large houses on
1664-513: The BMW team saloon cars and Graham Hill 's Jägermeister-sponsored Formula 2 car. From 1972 to 2011 Cobham Bus Museum occupied an ex-aircraft hangar (used mainly by Vickers-Armstrongs as a machine shop) next to Silvermere golf course in Redhill Road. The bus museum reopened as the London bus museum at Brooklands Museum on 1 August 2011. The former premises have been replaced by a care home. Cobham fits into
1728-558: The Burwood Estate in 1948. Cobham Rugby Football Club has four teams which play regularly, as well as youth and mini sections. There is Cobham Village Club and a branch of the Royal British Legion . Cobham Players regularly present plays, musicals, pantomimes and other entertainments in Cobham. Walton Firs Activity Centre lies just off the A3 in Cobham and covers 28 acres. It takes its name from Colonel Walton, who dealt with
1792-595: The Cobham Conservation Group was formed, later to become the Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust, and one of its main objectives was to rescue the much deteriorated grist mill building from sliding into the river as a result of water erosion of the mill island. In 1986 the freehold of the mill was taken over by the Thames Water Authority who, as part of their flood control expenditure rebuilt
1856-589: The English poet, literary and social critic, Matthew Arnold , rented Pains Hill Cottage from Mr. Charles J. Leaf and lived there until his death in 1888. In 1904 Charles Combe of Cobham Park purchased and lived in Painshill Park, his son having moved into Cobham Park . Until World War II Painshill Park was held by a succession of private owners. In 1948 the estate was split up and sold in separate lots for commercial uses. The Park's features fell into decay. By 1980
1920-437: The Fairmile name disappearing. There are six councillors covering the two new wards, 4 Conservative and 2 Liberal Democrat as from May 2023. Cobham councillor James Browne was Leader of Elmbridge Borough Council in 2019. For Surrey County voting, Cobham is paired with Stoke d'Abernon . Cobham has many old buildings, conservation areas and housing development pressures. It has a very active Heritage Trust, re-formed in 2007, and
1984-583: The High Street, dividing the remaining agricultural parts of Cobham in the west and south. Elevation reaches a minimum here of 20 metres (66 ft) above sea level . Cobham used to have two wards ; the Cobham Fairmile ward has a population of 4,760 neighbouring Cobham and Downside has a population of 6,158. Cobham Fairmile ward has been abolished and is now part of the Oxshott and Stoke d'Abernon Ward. At
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2048-621: The Painshill Trust. Painshill, which is open to the public (with entry charge), is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . In 1998 Painshill was awarded the Europa Nostra Medal for the "Exemplary restoration from a state of extreme neglect, of a most important 18th-century landscape park and its extraordinary buildings." In May 2006, Painshill was awarded full collection status for its John Bartram Heritage Collection, by
2112-834: The Portsmouth-London Road, and the building now known as the Cobham Exchange was once a coaching inn. The latter grew up around St Andrew's Church, which dates from the 12th century. Although much altered and extended in the 19th century, the church preserves a Norman tower and is a Grade I listed building (the highest architectural category). In 1649, the Diggers established a new community at Little Heath following their expulsion from nearby St George's Hill , Weybridge . The community met some success, with 11 acres (4.5 ha) cultivated, six houses built, winter crops harvested, and several pamphlets published. The local lord, of
2176-467: The Redhill Common part of Ockham and Wisley Commons . Watershed points, or in international terms drainage divides , are at the summits of the sides of the lower Mole Valley, attaining 60 metres (200 ft) and 65 metres (213 ft) towards the east close to Oxshott and Stoke D'Abernon respectively. The River Mole runs through Cobham, with a visitor area and well-surfaced path by the mill in
2240-463: The River Mole by a 19th-century beam engine powered by a water wheel. Hamilton enhanced the views of hills and lake by careful plantings of woods, avenues and specimen trees to create vistas and separate environments including an amphitheatre , a water meadow and an alpine valley . As focal points in the vistas and as sympathetic elements to be discovered in the landscape, Hamilton placed a number of follies , small decorative buildings, which include
2304-509: The adjacent fertile east banks of the Mole such as at landscape garden Painshill Park on free-draining gravel topped with layers of alluvium . This contrasts with the steep west bank, acidic sandy heath , which underlies the highest land on all the outskirts, residual outcrops of the Bagshot Sands (Formation) . These isolate Cobham village historically, Esher Commons , Oxshott Heath and Woods and
2368-823: The ancestral Luttrellstown Castle near Clonsilla outside Dublin , where his role in crushing the Irish Rebellion in 1798 made it unsafe to stay. (His ancestor Colonel Henry Luttrell had been assassinated in Dublin in 1717 for betraying the Irish to King William III of England .) After his death in 1821, Luttrell's wife Jane lived at Painshill until her death in 1831 when it was sold it to Sir William Cooper, High sheriff of Surrey . Sir William Cooper and his wife, later his widow, lived there until 1863, and installed Joseph Bramah 's suspension bridge and water wheel , and planted an arboretum designed by John Claudius Loudon . In 1873,
2432-492: The benefit of the public." There is a wealth of 18th-century images of the main features of Painshill to help the process. The restoration of this Grade I continued, in 2013 work was completed on the restoration of the Crystal Grotto, further restoration work in the park is dependent on the availability of funding. The park now borders the A3 road , which allows easy access. Today Painshill comprises 158 acres (64 ha) of
2496-511: The company famously had a "Challenge Lock" displayed in the window of their London shop from 1790 mounted on a board containing the inscription: The artist who can make an instrument that will pick or open this lock shall receive 200 guineas the moment it is produced. The challenge stood for over 67 years until, at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the American locksmith Alfred Charles Hobbs
2560-441: The estate until his death in 1794. In 1778 Hopkins commissioned architect Richard Jupp to rebuild Painshill House in a different place within the park. The house was later extended in the 19th century by architect Decimus Burton and is now a grade II* listed building. Henry Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton (7 August 1743 – 25 April 1821) bought Painshill in 1807 from William Moffat . Luttrell lived at Painshill having fled from
2624-601: The exteriors in the movie adaptation of Oscar Wilde 's The Picture of Dorian Gray (2009 film) . In 2017, Painshill Park was featured in the science fiction television series Black Mirror , episode " Hang the DJ ". Cobham, Surrey Cobham ( / ˈ k ɒ b əm / ) is a large village in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey , England, centred 17 miles (27 km) south-west of London and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Guildford on
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2688-412: The field of lathe design. Bramah's most important invention was the hydraulic press . The hydraulic press depends on Pascal's principle , that pressure change throughout a closed system is constant. The press had two cylinders and pistons of different cross-sectional areas. If a force was exerted on the smaller piston, this would be translated into a larger force on the larger piston. The difference in
2752-586: The heart of Cobham is the Church Cobham Conservation Area, which was designated in 1973 and includes fourteen statutory listed buildings. Amongst these are Pyports, once the home of Vernon Lushington ; the picturesque Church Stile House; and two fine houses overlooking the River Mole : Ham Manor and Cedar House, the latter owned by the National Trust . The Cobham Park estate was the home of John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier , once Head of
2816-596: The important landscape garden author Thomas Whately . Then as now, there was a particular route round the park recommended, designed to bring the visitor upon the successive views with best effect. Views from Painshill were painted on some pieces of the Frog Service commissioned by Catherine the Great of Russia from Wedgwood . Hamilton eventually ran out of money and sold the estate in 1773 to Benjamin Bond Hopkins, who held
2880-465: The local authority, Elmbridge Borough Council, had bought 158 acres (64 ha) of Hamilton's original estate and the work of restoring the landscape garden and its many features could start. In the following year, the Painshill Park Trust was founded as a registered charity with the remit "to restore Painshill as nearly as possible to Charles Hamilton's Original Concept of a Landscaped Garden for
2944-451: The manor, Parson John Platt , despite initial sympathy, rallied gangs to attack the community and prevent locals in assisting them. Platt and local landowners drove the community out in April 1650. The village's population was reported as 1617 inhabitants in 1848. The arrival of the railway in the 1880s led to the expansion of the original village, the eastern fields and southern areas towards
3008-458: The next 3 stops up the line to London Oxshott Claygate and Hinchley Wood on Surrey County Council . Following the formation of the Territorial Force in 1908, the village for recruiting, was granted to the 6th Battalion, The East Surrey Regiment which maintained a platoon from A Company. The village also maintained the "Sandyroyd School Troops of Scouts". To the north and west of
3072-408: The original more than 200 acres (81 ha) owned by Charles Hamilton in the 18th century. The landscape garden stretches along the banks of the winding River Mole on land that has a number of natural hills and valleys. The central feature is a serpentine lake of 14 acres (5.7 ha) with several islands and spanned by bridges and a causeway. The water for the lake and the plantings is pumped from
3136-474: The outskirts of Cobham have been taken over by schools: Heywood is now the American Community School , and Burwood House is now Notre Dame School . The Chelsea F.C. training ground is also nearby. The River Mole provides a setting for the red brick water mill, constructed in the late 18th century and once part of a much larger complex. It stands on the site of earlier mills dating back to
3200-419: The purchase of the site in 1939. It was used by a Royal Artillery anti-aircraft battery during World War II and in peacetime returned to use as a Scout camp site. During the 1990s some 3,000 additional trees were planted, and more recently an all-weather barn and an artificial, but realistic, caving complex have been added. The Member of Parliament (MP) is Conservative Ben Spencer , elected in 2019 as
3264-408: The railway station becoming suburbanised during the 20th century. A 1960s improvements scheme widened the entrance to the High Street from River Hill to the south which was very narrow, removing a few historic and picturesque buildings, replacing some with less ornate brickwork glass-fronted buildings suitable as shops. Subsequently, the High Street has developed into a local shopping centre. In 1951
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#17328517781503328-402: The successor to Dominic Raab In local government Cobham is part of Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council . Until 2016, Cobham was divided into two wards, Cobham Fairmile and Cobham & Downside for Elmbridge voting. Following boundary changes in 2016, Cobham was divided between a newly drawn Cobham and downside ward and an expanded Oxshott & Stoke d'Abernon ward, with
3392-399: The three dispersed sites). Vickers had numerous other wartime dispersed depots locally and those within the boundaries or whose nearest village was Cobham included Corbie Wood and Riseholme (on Seven Hills Road), Conway Cottage and Norwood Farm. Despite its proximity to Brooklands and Wisley airfields (both active until the early 1970s), Cobham saw relatively few aircraft crashes. Most notable
3456-499: The trees and shrubs planted by Hamilton were sent to him from Philadelphia by the naturalist John Bartram . The garden was open to respectable visitors, who were shown round by the head gardener for a tip, and was visited by many well-known figures including two visits by William Gilpin , pioneer of the Picturesque , Thomas Jefferson with John Adams , and Prince Franz of Anhalt-Dessau separately, on special tours of gardens, and
3520-415: The two forces would be proportional to the difference in area of the two pistons. In effect the cylinders act in a similar way that a lever is used to increase the force exerted. Bramah was granted a patent for his hydraulic press in 1795. Bramah's hydraulic press had many industrial applications and still does today. At the time Bramah was bringing his concepts to fruition, the field of hydraulic engineering
3584-706: The village centre, private estates off the A245 Stoke Road, semi-rural Downside and Hatchford, Ockham south of the M25 .Since a by election in July 2021, the Liberal Democrats have taken 2 out of the 3 Cobham seats on Elmbridge B.C. Since the 2013 Surrey County election, the local Member for Cobham is Conservative, Mrs Mary Lewis who serves as Cabinet member for Children, Young People and Families. A Cobham & Downside member on Elmbridge , Mike Bennison since 2005 also represents
3648-651: The village is the A3 trunk road, a major arterial route from London to Portsmouth . This road links to the M25 motorway at Junction 10, immediately to the southwest of Cobham. Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon railway station , opened in 1885, is on the New Guildford line from London Waterloo . The closest public desk and offices of Surrey Police is at the Civic Offices, Elmbridge Borough Council, in Esher. Surrey Fire & Rescue Service , called Painshill Fire Station, has
3712-488: The war, Vickers' Experimental Department continued to use two of the Redhill Road sites (now known as 'Foxwarren') and built aircraft prototypes there such as the Viscount airliner and Valiant V-bomber, until it moved back to the main factory at Brooklands in the late 1950s. In the 1970s residents Mike Chambers ran a business building Huron Formula Fords and a Formula Atlantic car at the Silvermere works and Geoff Uren prepared
3776-491: The weirs nearby. They also recognised that the mill was Grade II listed and shored up the mill's foundations. Thereafter, the Cobham Mill Preservation Trust was formed as a sister organisation to the Cobham Conservation Group and took over the leasehold. The building was restored to full working order by the volunteers of the Cobham Mill Preservation Trust, and first opened to the public in 1993. Cobham Mill
3840-474: Was a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter which flew low over Brooklands apparently in trouble and crashed at Cobham on 16 March 1944; the pilot survived and little else was published of this incident. During World War II aircraft company Airspeed Ltd set up a design office at Fairmile Manor which designed the civil aircraft the Airspeed Ambassador before moving back to Portsmouth in the late 1940s. After
3904-516: Was able to open the lock and, following some argument about the circumstances under which he had opened it, was awarded the prize. Hobbs' attempt required some 51 hours, spread over 16 days. The Challenge Lock is in the Science Museum in London . An examination of the lock shows that it has been rebuilt since Hobbs picked it. Originally it had 18 iron slides and 1 central spring; it now has 13 steel slides, each with its own spring. Bramah received
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#17328517781503968-411: Was an English inventor and locksmith . He is best known for having improved the flush toilet and inventing the hydraulic press . Along with William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong , he can be considered one of the two fathers of hydraulic engineering. Joseph Bramah was the second son in the family of Joseph Bramma (note the different spelling of the surname), a farmer, and his wife, Mary Denton. He
4032-461: Was an almost unknown science. Bramah and William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong were the two pioneers in the field. The hydraulic press is still known as the Bramah Press after its inventor. Bramah was a very prolific inventor, though not all of his inventions were as important as his hydraulic press. They included: a beer engine (1797), a planing machine (1802), a paper-making machine (1805),
4096-603: Was educated at the local school in Silkstone in South Yorkshire , and on leaving school he was apprenticed to a local carpenter. On completing his apprenticeship he moved to London , where he started work as a cabinet-maker. In 1783 he married Mary Lawton of Mapplewell , near Barnsley , and the couple set up home in London. They subsequently had a daughter and four sons. The couple lived first at 124 Piccadilly, but later moved to Eaton Street, Pimlico. In London, Bramah worked for
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