Aldbourne is an Ancient Parish in the county of Wiltshire.
Other places in the parish include: the tythings of Preston, Lower Upham, and Upper Upham.
Status: Ancient Parish
Alternative names: Aldbourn, Aubourne
Parish church: St. Michael
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1637
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1607
Nonconformists include: Particular Baptist, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan Methodist.
Parishes adjacent to Aldbourne
Historical Descriptions
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
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.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales 1851
Aldbourne, or Aubourne, a parish in the division of Marlborough and Ramsbury, union of Hungerford, Wiltshire; 6 miles north-east of Marlborough, on the road to Lambourn. Living, a vicarage in the archd. of Wilts and dio. of Salisbury; rated at £26 6s. 3d.; gross income £390. Patron, in 1835, the bishop of Salisbury. The church is a structure laying claim to considerable antiquity. Charities connected with this parish amount to £40. This was formerly a market-town and a place of considerable trade, but has of late years fallen into decay, partly in consequence of a fire in 1760, which destroyed 72 houses and other property, to the amount of £20,000. It anciently gave name to a royal chase granted by Henry VIII. to Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, which is now enclosed and cultivated. Fustians were formerly manufactured here to a great extent, but at present this branch of trade is nearly extinct. Tuesday was the market-day; but for a long period both markets and fairs have been discontinued. Pop., in 1801, 1,280; in 1831, 1,418. Houses 336. Acres 8,060. A. P. £6,576. Poor rates, in 1837, £735 — In the neigh bourhood of this place the parliamentary forces and the royalists had a smart skirmish previously to the battle of Newbury. Part of the residence of the vicar is supposed to be the remains of a hunting-seat of John of Gaunt. Some remains of an ancient British encampment are to be seen near a farm-house called Pierce’s lodge. The surrounding country it rich and fertile.
Source: The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales; A Fullarton & Co. Glasgow; 1851.
Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales 1850
Aldbourne or Auborne, 73½ miles S.W. London. P. 1556.
Source: Leonard’s Gazetteer of England and Wales; Second Edition; C. W. Leonard, London; 1850.
Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland 1833
Aldbourn, co. Wilts.
P. T. Marlborough (73) 6¼ m. NE. Pop. 1383. M. D. Tues.
A parish and town in the hundred of Selkeley; living, a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Wilts, and diocese of Salisbury; charged in K. B. 26l. 6s. 3d.; church ded. to St. Michael; patron, Bishop of Salisbury. It formerly possessed considerable trade, in which it has latterly been superseded by Hungerford. It is seated on a small stream, which runs into the Kennet.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The Irish and Welsh articles by G. N. Wright; Vol. I; London; Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand; 1833.
Directories
Kelly’s Directory of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire and the Isle of Wight 1889
Administration
- County: Wiltshire
- Civil Registration District: Hungerford
- Probate Court: Court of the Archdeaconry of Wiltshire
- Diocese: Salisbury
- Rural Deanery: Marlborough
- Poor Law Union: Hungerford
- Hundred: Selkley
- Province: Canterbury