There are many aspects to our villages history, and we cannot hope to document them all here, but as our research continues these pages will keep growing in detail. So do please come back once in a while to see what’s new!
Band of Brothers, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne
So much has already been written about the history of the unit there is little to be gained by repeating those great books, so what’s here is more of an Aldbourne view of the 101st’s time here. The 101st came to Britain aboard the RMS Samaria which was a converted India mail liner, There were...
Militiary History
Cassie Rust has written a detailed book (350 pages!) about the military and wartime history of Aldbourne. It is available on Amazon in kindle and paperback formats. This is the link to Amazon: Aldbourne's Military and Wartime Past: Amazon.co.uk: Rust, Mrs Cassandra Diana: 9798846802148: Books The book covers from Roman times onwards through the Civil...
Thatched Buildings of Aldbourne
Michael Read B.E.M. has compiled a catalog of the thatched buildings in Aldbourne, taking photographs of them. We have now tagged those into a map:
The Aldbourne Cup
The Aldbourne Cup is an early Bronze Age (Wessex Culture) cup with a lid, dating from c.1700-1500BC. It was discovered by Canon William Greenwell when he visited Aldbourne in 1878 and 1879 and excavated a number of the Bronze Age barrows in the parish. Both the cup and the lid are finely decorated inside and...
Aldbourne Timeline
Field Names
As a first step to recording field names at various times in the history of the village we have taken the field names, boundaries and other features from the 1809 enclosure map and created a Google Map with layers showing these features. There is more detail on the 1809 map than is easy to transcribe...
Aldbourne Band
Aldbourne Band 2015 Aldbourne is lucky enough to have an excellent band, who we enjoy listening to on occasions throughout the year. The Friends of Aldbourne Band recently ran a Heritage Project to record and present as much as possible of the history of the band. These pages are a presentation of the results of...
Visiting Devils End & The Devils Hump
In the early 1971 Aldbourne was the location for a Doctor Who story - The Daemons. Aldbourne itself played the part of the village Devils End, and a nearby Bronze Age Barrow played the part of The Devils Hump. We welcome Whovians who want to visit this iconic location, Doctor Who is most certainly not...
WW1: Roll of Honour
We remember those who fell whilst serving their country in the First World War. Below you will find 4 pages each containing more pages, one for each of the fallen. They are sorted alphabetically. The list is a result of our research, starting with the two war memorials in the village (they do no match,...
WW2: Roll of Honour
Aldbourne’s Memorial Seats and Benches
Aldbourne's Memorial Seats and Benches Plus Public Seating These pages contain an online version of the booklet produced by Michael Read BEM in April 2021, we are grateful to him for his work and his permission to reproduce it here. You can either explore them using this map, or scroll down to see the
Aldbourne’s Bell Industry
We can trace the foundry back to the late 17th century, when the Corr family were gunsmiths in Aldbourne, formerly renting then owning the Court House, just to the north of the church. Following the end of the Civil War, the demand for guns dropped off considerably, and with a skilled workforce and furnace and...
Snap (Deserted Village)
In the 14th century Snap was the smallest settlement in the parish, and one of the poorest in the county; there were 19 poll-tax payers in 1377. In the early 17th century there was a row of five cottages along the southern side of the valley. There may have been a cottage nearby at Woodsend...
Upper Upham
Early settlement at Upper Upham may have continued into historic times. There is evidence of Roman field systems, occupation and baths. In the 14th century Upham was a small village, having 40 poll-tax payers in 1377, and was poorer than the average community in the hundred. There may have been some six houses at Upper...
Natural History
Aldbourne is situated in the Marlborough downs. The Chalk was formed in the Turonian Age (Upper Cretaceous), some of the surrounding hills have a cap of Head formed in the Quaternary Age. Aldbourne sits at the junction of six valleys. One (South Street) is where the bourne leaves the village heading towards the Kennet. Another...
Who Lived In Aldbourne
Here are some mini-biographies of folk who have lived here, these articles are adapted from the ones originally published in The Dabchick magazine.
