Collingbourne Ducis is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England, about south of

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

. It is one of several villages on the River Bourne which is a seasonal river, usually dry in summer. The parish includes the hamlets of Cadley and Sunton.

History

From the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

we know Earl Harold held the manor, and in 1086 a large settlement of 87 households was recorded. In 1256 the village was named Collingbourne Earls after the

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

, the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creations ...

, who also held neighbouring Everleigh.

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

inherited the manor, became the Duke of Lancaster, and the village was thus known as Collingbourne Ducis or Dukes. Sunton House is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

seven-bay house from c. 1710. The architect C.E. Ponting was born in Collingbourne Ducis in 1850. The

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of St. Andrew's parish church in 1856 by G.E. Street made a lasting impression on him. The Bourne Iron Works in the village was established by James Rawlings in the 1860s and made agricultural implements until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway was opened through the Bourne valley in 1882, becoming the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in 1884 and part of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

in 1923. The line passed close to the east of Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne station was close to the village centre, south of the Cadley road. The station closed when the line was closed to passengers in 1961, and subsequently the track was removed. Sunton, and the northern part of Cadley, were transferred to the parish from

Collingbourne Kingston Collingbourne Kingston is a village and civil parish about south of the market town of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England. The village, which is on the A338 primary route between Andover and Marlborough, is one of several on the River Bourne, ...

in 1934. In 1974 a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

cemetery of archaeological significance was discovered in Cadley, including one bed burial. In 1998 a Saxon settlement was found in Saunders Meadow during the construction of a housing estate. The Post Office at Collingbourne Ducis was mentioned by Sir

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

' character, Mr. Stevens, in the 1993 film '' The Remains of the Day''. The village has one of the few surviving original

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

post boxes inset to a

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

cobble wall at ''Sally Lunn's'' Cottage.

Religious sites

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Andrew (St Mary's until some time before 1786) is from the early 13th century. Alterations in the 14th century included the addition of the tower, which was rebuilt in the 15th. In 1856 the chancel was narrowed and a vestry added, to designs of G.E. Street; further restoration in 1877 was by

Sir Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...

. The church is a Grade II* listed building. The parish was united with Everleigh in 1977 after the closure of St Peter's, Everleigh. It forms part of the Savernake team ministry. A

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

chapel was built at Cadley in 1880. The building was sold for residential use in 1988.

Local government

Collingbourne Ducis is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, which is responsible for all significant

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

functions.

Amenities

Collingbourne Church of England Primary School serves the parish and surrounding area, including Collingbourne Kingston. Its building opened in 2004 at a new site on the northwest outskirts of the village; until then it occupied a National School building dating from 1859, close to the church. Near the school is a village hall with playing fields. The village has two

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s: The ''Tipple Inn'', an 18th-century building (formerly the ''Railway Hotel'' and the ''Blue Lion'') on the A4 road, and ''The Shears Inn'' at the far end of Cadley Road.

Twinning Association

Collingbourne and District is twinned with

Le Merlerault Le Merlerault () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Heraldry See also * Communes of the Orne department The following is a list of the 385 communes of the Orne department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

in Normandy, France. The twinning agreement was made on 18 April 1992.

References

External links

Collingbourne Ducis Parish CouncilCollingbourne Ducis Village Hall

Sources

* {{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire