Aldbourne Timeline

Mesolithic flints found dating from this time indicate temporary settlement in the parish

25 round barrows, including Four Barrows, and settlements at Upham and Woodsend date from this time

There is occupation at Upper Upham at this time

There are settlements between North Farm and Lottage and settlements and a field system at Upper Upham and Shipley

The village is founded by the Saxons and a wooden church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene is built on the site of the present day church

Held by King William I. Domesday Book records enough land for 45 plough teams, 4 mills, a church belonging to the manor and a population of between 670 and 740

A Norman stone church with a central tower replaces the wooden Saxon church

St. Mary Magdalene's church destroyed by fire, with only the south doorway surviving, and is rebuilt

Aldbourne Feast possibly held from this time

Hurdlemaking documented for the first time

Documented evidence of rabbits on Aldbourne Chase being killed and eaten

Windmill for grinding corn in existence; a Thursday market held by this time

A wealthy parish with 332 poll tax payers

Trade in rabbits from the warrens worth £40 per year

An inn on the site of the Blue Boar in existence

Central tower removed from St. Mary Magdalene's church, a west tower built by Richard Goddard, a chantry chapel established and the church re-dedicated to St. Michael

Dudmore Lodge built

Houses built in Castle Street by this time

Court House built; fairs held annually on 10 March and 22 July by this time

The oldest bell of the eight now in St. Michael's church hung

Chantry chapel in St.Michael's church dissolved

South Street is first mentioned; the market is now held on Tuesdays

Upper Upham House built

Local tradesmen issue their own tokens; brewhouse in existence at back of Wall Cottage on the Green; annual average stock of rabbits in the warrens between 8,000 and 20,000

West Street first mentioned

An inn in Grasshills Lane in existence

Much of the manor land sold along with the rabbit warrens

Last deer in Aldbourne Chase killed

Parish registers commence

Civil War: Parliamentary army attacked by Prince Rupert's cavalry north of Dudmore Lodge and forced to withdraw to Hungerford

Civil War: A muster of 10,000 Royalist troops takes place on Aldbourne Chase

Plague in the village

William and Robert Cor establish their bell foundry in the grounds of Court House

Fustian weaving begins in the village as a cottage inustry

300 dissenters meet outside Court House to hear sermons from parsons ejected from their living

The house of Charles Gilbert licensed to hold Presbyterian meetings

John Aubrey describes rabbits from Aldbourne as the best, sweetest and fattest in England

The Crown built as a coaching inn

William Wild, a non-conformist preacher, dies at the age of 116

Presbyterians meet in a newly built house in West Street

Fairs discontinued

72 houses and buildings, valued at £20,000, and including a fustian warehouse and the Independent's Meeting House, are destroyed by fire; market discontinued

Village cross restored

Robert Wells opens a bell foundry at Bell Court

80 houses and 20 barns valued at £10,000 destroyed by fire

Two fire engines known as Adam and Eve purchased

Straw plaiting industry introduced as a cottage industry by the Society for the Betterment of the Poor, producing tuscin for local milliners; fustian weaving industry in decline

Trade in rabbits ceases following enclosure of the land; willow weaving begun in the village as a cottage industry

Workhouse opened in Bay House in South Street

Wesleyan Methodist chapel built, probably in Lottage Road

50 acres of Southwood Common given for the use of the poor of the village in perpetuity; The Bell Inn in existence; Court House now used as the vicarage house

Waterspout causes severe flooding in South Street

Jane Bridgeman maintains a school for sixteen poor children at Snap

Fire destroys 15 cottages, 3 barns and 2 malthouses

Workhouse in South Street destroyed by fire

Blue Boar Inn open by this time

Well's bell foundry closed

William Cobbett in his book Rural Rides describes the village as \" a decaying place\" that might be \" depopulated in twenty year's time\"

New bell foundry opened by James Bridgeman at High Town

Hat making industry in existence

House of Thomas Barrett licensed to hold Baptist prayer meetings; there are five fee paying day schools in the village

A brass and reed band formed, the precursor of the present day Aldbourne Silver Band; Aldbourne becomes part of Hungerford Poor Law Union

A National School built

Cottages in West Street converted into a Primitive Methodist chapel

Cottages in Back Lane converted into the Strict Baptists' Little Zoar chapel

Wesleyan Methodist chapel built in Lottage Road replacing the earlier chapel

Wesleyan Methodist chapel built at Woodsend

A new windmill beside Baydon Street built by this time

Thomas Orchard begins making chairs

National School opened at Woodsend in a converted cottage also used as a chapel

John Brown bequeaths £200 to the National Schools of the parish on the death of his wife

High Town foundry closed; new National School opened

St. Michael's church restored by William Butterfield; chairmaking begun in Castle Street; fire engine house built at the side of the Green

A new Strict Baptist Zoar chapel built

A schoolroom for infants is added to the National School

Bronze Age Barrows north of the village excavated by Canon Greenwell - finds which are now in the British Museum include the Aldbourne Cup

The last drunk locked up in the Blind House between Lottage Road and Baydon Street - the building is later demolished

Joseph Wentworth bequeaths £200 to provide an annual gift to the two oldest agricultural labourers born and living in the village

St. Michael's church restored and a new clock installed in the tower; Thomas Orchard opens a chair factory in South Street; Aldbourne Football Club founded

Reading Room opened at Wall Cottage; William Brown gives the Green to the village; Parish Council replaces the Court Leet

Baydon Street renamed Oxford Street

Memorial Hall in Oxford Street built

Windmill on Baydon Hill demolished; malting ceased; the Post Office is on the Green by this time

Responsibility for the National School in Aldbourne passes to Wiltshire County Council

Rachel Fisher, the last resident of Snap, moves to Aldbourne

A new Primitive Methodist chapel built on the site of the former chapel in West Street

Malthouse in South Street is converted into a theatre: a production of The Village Weddingis performed and attended by George Bernard Shaw

Wesleyan Methodist chapel at Woodsend closed

Iron foundry and agricultural engineering business begun by W. T. Loveday

Theatre in South Street closed

World War I: most of the houses in Snap destroyed by Army gunnery practice; 48 men from Aldbourne killed in the war

National School at Woodsend closed

Barnes' Coaches established

Hightown stables destroyed by fire at which the fire engines Adam and Eve are used for the last time

Carnival held for the first time; James White of Foxhill presents the Band with a set of silver instruments

Chair making ceases with the closure of the chair factory

Primitive Methodist chapel extended

Women's Institute erect a seat near the Old Rectory in commemoration of the coronation of King George VI

13 men from the village killed in World War II

W.T. Loveday iron foundry becomes the Aldbourne Engineering Company

Severe flooods in the centre of the village

Company E of the US 506th Regiment of 101st Airborne Division stationed in Aldbourne prior to the Normandy landings

Egg packing factory built north of Stock Lane for Wiltshire Poultry Farmers Ltd

Pond filled in

Mains gas supply provided to the village; sewerage system constructed

Ramsbury and Aldbourne Bowls Club founded

Court House ceases to be used as the vicarage house

The Bell Inn closed

Library opened in The Green, the smallest library in Wiltshire

Egg packing factory extended; mains water available for the first time

Village expands with the provision of approx 150 new private and council houses and flats

National School building replaced by the present school (St. Michael's Primary School) in Back Lane

The tradition of \"beating the bounds\", a distance of 18½ miles, is revived

Benefices of Aldbourne and Baydon vicarage united

The Queen Victoria inn closed; Wesleyan Methodists join the Primitive Methodists to form Aldbourne Methodist Church in a newly built hall in Lottage Road which is also used as the Methodist Youth Centre

An 18th century Festival held

Public convenience opened in The Square; village used by the BBC. for the filming of an episode of Dr Who

A new wing added to St. Michael's Primary School; Civil War skirmish in Aldbourne re-enacted on the original site by the Sealed Knot Society

Aldbourne wins Best Kept Village Competition for the first time; Aldbourne and Baydon benefice combined with Ramsbury vicarage

Parish Council undertakes a village appraisal

Aldbourne Engineering Company sold and renamed West Street Motors (Aldbourne) Ltd

Church bells at St. Michael's church remounted and the clock gilded in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

Primitive Methodist Chapel in West Street demolished

Post Office moves to The Square

First issue of the bi-momthly parish magazine The Dabchick produced

New and enlarged pond built on site of the old pond; Evelyn Glennie, percussionist, gives a recital at St. Michael's church

Crotal bell castings made by Robert Wells in the 18th century and purchased by the Whitechapel Fell Foundry returned to the village on permanent loan

BBC film part of their drama The Last Salute on the Green

A new electronic organ installed in St. Michael's church; the Parish Council undertakes a village appraisal

Aldbourne community website wins Calor Village of the Year (ICT Section) award

Aldbourne Oral History Project begun; clock on the tower of St. Michael's church undergoes major refurbishment including the installation of a mechanical winding mechanism; development of Palmer's Field adjacent to Sportsfield on Farm Lane as a recreational and sports area begun

Public convenience refurbished and part of the building converted to a community room