There is a mixture of late 19th century estate and farm-workers' homes (some terraced or semi-detached), plus a post-war ribbon development of larger homes along Brimpton Lane, The Byway and Kingsclere Road.

A layer of clay between 0.5 and 1.0 metres thick provided an acidic topsoil on which the native vegetation was pine, heather and associated species.

The main local employer is AWE Blacknest, a major centre for international seismological research; There are no shops in Brimpton Common, there is theLakeside Garden Centre,[1] and The Pineapple public house[2] plus a few small businesses surrounding AWE Blacknest.

It was made by a local craftsman using only a chainsaw and chisel and carved from the last of the English elm.

For many years up to the 1990s its local worthies included “Cowboy Roy” (who lived in a wild-west mock-up in nearby Haughurst Hill) and Gerry the Poacher, and their portraits once hung on either side of the fireplace in the public bar.