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Aldbourne, Wiltshire

The Green, Aldbourne

Aldbourne is a village of about 2000 people, 6 miles north-east of Marlborough, the parish includes the hamlets of Upper Upham and Woodsend. The parish is home to 98 buildings Listed for their architectural merit. The earliest of the houses, the thatched Priest's House in West Street, dates back to the 15th century. The Church of St Michael dates back to the 13th century. 98 listings is an incredible number for a village of any size and the properties more than add to the beauty of the location, which is on the south slope of the Lambourn Downs - itself part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

During the Second World War, U.S. Army paratroopers of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, were based at Aldbourne from late 1943 in preparation for the Normandy landings and Operation Market Garden.

In 1971, Aldbourne was the location for the filming of a Doctor Who story 'The Daemons'; the filming of the 2014 television drama Glue; Vodafone advertisements in 2018 and 2019; and Easy Company and the village featured in a 2001 miniseries, Band of Brothers. Doctor Who conventions have been held in the village, and fans still make pilgrimages to the village. Some of the Dr Who actors even returned in 1992 to film a retrospective. The village green was predominantly used in the Dr Who story, as was the public toilet, at the end of which the village's church was blown up - fortunately only a model of it!

The Malt House barn in South Street was the setting for Charles McEvoy's production of 'The Village Wedding' attended by George Bernard Shaw, Edgar Wallace and others in 1910.

There are two pubs, The Crown and The Blue Boar, the Time At The Forge cafe alongside their forge, St Michael's  primary school, a village stores with deli, cafe, and post office, hairdressers, the Aldbourne Heritage Centre located in the former toilets in The Square, and a Co-Op shop. There's designated parking in the Square.

Film/TV Location For: Return to Devil's End; Summer 67; An Eagle Returns; Doctor Who; Glue

Excerpts From The Wiltshire Council Timeline Of Aldourne (scroll)

1600s - annual average stock of rabbits in the warrens between 8,000 and 20,000
1648 - Plague in the village
1669 - 300 dissenters meet outside Court House to hear sermons from parsons ejected from their living
1760 - 72 houses and buildings destroyed by fire
1777 - 80 houses and 20 barns destroyed by fire
1778 - Two fire engines known as Adam and Eve purchased - can still be seen in the church
Early 1800s - Trade in rabbits ceases following enclosure of the land
C.1800 - Workhouse opened in Bay House in South Street, unemployed families were split up and forced into workhouses as 'outdoor relief' ended.
1809 - 50 acres of Southwood Common given for the use of the poor of the village in perpetuity
1817 - Fire destroys 15 cottages, 3 barns and 2 malthouses
1819 - Workhouse in South Street destroyed by fire
1826 - William Cobbett in his book Rural Rides describes the village as " a decaying place" that might be " depopulated in twenty year's time"
1905 - Rachel Fisher, the last resident of Snap, moves to Aldbourne
1914-1918 - World War I: most of the houses in Snap destroyed by Army gunnery practice; 48 men from Aldbourne killed in the war
1939-1945 - 13 men from the village killed in World War II
1940 - Severe flooods in the centre of the village
1971 - Public convenience opened in The Square; village used by the BBC. for the filming of an episode of Dr Who
1997 - BBC film part of their drama The Last Salute on the Green

The Crown at Aldbourne. Note the Dalek standing guard at the door, a reference to an episode of Dr Who having been filmed in the village. Grade II, early 18th century.

Pond House, and No. 5, The Square, Grade II, early 18th century.

The Green, Aldbourne

The Green, Aldbourne

Church of St Michael, The Green, Aldbourne. Grade I, 13th century.

15 The Green, Aldourne, Grade II, early 19th century.

16 The Green, Grade II, 18th century.

17, The Green, Aldbourne

Blue Boar, The Green, Aldbourne, 17th century, Grade II.

High Town, The Green, Aldbourne. 18th century, Grade II.

Crooked Corner, Aldbourne.

Candlemas Cottage, Crooked Corner, Aldbourne.

Beech Knoll, Crooked Corner, Aldbourne, Grade II, 18th century.

2 and 4, Oxford Street, Aldbourne, Grade II, 17th century.

1 Castle Street, Aldbourne, 17th century, Grade II.

11, Castle Street, Aldbourne, 18th century, Grade II.

Barn House, 10 Castle Street, Aldbourne

Whitley Cottage, Castle Street, 18th century, Grade II. The large window is where there used to be a former cart entrance.

South Street, Aldbourne, including former forge.

Yew Tree House, South Street, Aldbourne, early 19th century, Grade II.

Turnpike Cottage, South Street, Aldbourne, 17th century, Grade II.

Brook Cottage South St, Aldbourne

The Old Malt House, South Street, Aldbourne, 18th century, refaced early 19th century, and Malthouse, 1828, both Grade II.

Oxford Street, Aldbourne

Toad Hall, 10 The Square, Aldbourne

The Old Bakehouse, 2 West Street, Aldbourne, Grade II, 17th century.

Oak House, 6 West Street, Aldbourne, Grade II, 18th century.

The Coach House, West Street, Aldbourne

Rose Cottage,20 West Street, Aldbourne, circa 1650, Grade II.

Barn at 20, West Street, Aldbourne

Thruppenny and Sixpenny, West Street, Aldbourne, Grade II, 17th century.

Granary, West Street, Aldbourne, 18th century, Grade II.

Granary, West Street, Aldbourne, 18th century, Grade II.

Forge Row, West Street, Aldbourne. Three cottages, 17th century, possibly earlier, Grade II.

The Priest's House, West Street, Aldbourne, 15th century, Grade II.

Manor Farm, West Street, Aldbourne