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Aldbourne, Wiltshire
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, 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, and a Co-Op shop. There's designated parking in the Square.
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, 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, and a Co-Op shop. There's designated parking in the Square.
photos to b added