In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Aldbourne like this:
ALDBOURNE, a village and a parish in the district of Hungerford and county of Wilts. The village stands 7 miles NW of Hungerford r. station, and 9 SE of Swindon, and has a post office under Hungerford. It was formerly a market town; but it suffered great devastation by fire in 1760; and it has never recovered its old prosperity. ...
Aldbourne Chase, adjacent to it on the N, was a favourite hunting-ground of King John; given by Henry VIII. to the Duke of Somerset; and the scene of the defeat of the Parliamentarians under the Earl of Essex, by the Royal forces under Prince Rupert; but is now enclosed and cultivated. The parish includes the tythings of Preston, Lower Upham, and Upper Upham. Acres, 8,495. Real property, £10,301. Pop., 1,539. Houses, 343. The property is subdivided. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury. Value, £367.* Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church is ancient; has Norman features and a brass; and is good. Part of the parsonage is supposed to be a remnant of the ancient royal hunting-seat. Remains of an ancient British encampment occur near a farmhouse called Pierce's Lodge. There are a Wesleyan chapel, and charities £43.
Aldbourne through time
Aldbourne is now part of Kennet district. Click here for graphs and data of how Kennet has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Aldbourne itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Aldbourne, in Kennet and Wiltshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/11484
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
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