Bourn
Encyclopedia
Bourn is a small village and civil parish in South
Cambridgeshire
, England
. Surrounding villages include Caxton
, Eltisley
and Cambourne. It is 8 miles (12 km) from the county town of Cambridge
. The population of the parish was 1,764 people at the time of the 2001 census.
Bourn has a Church of England
primary school, a doctors' surgery, the Church of St. Mary & St. Helena, a golf
club, a former Royal Air Force
base (RAF Bourn 1940-1945), which is used for light aircraft, and an old windmill
. Bourn Hall Clinic
, a centre for infertility treatment, is located here. A small stream called Bourn Brook
runs through the village, eventually joining the River Cam
.
.
Bourn has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years. Roman
remains have been found along the Bourn Brook
and near Bourn Hall and there is evidence of Romano-British
activity along the top of the valley on the airfield and in the direction of Caxton
. Three tumuli on Alms Hill are of Roman and Danish
origin and the two which were excavated in 1909 contained Roman coins and pottery, a Celt
ic button and evidence of Danish feasting commemorating the death of a leader or celebrating a victory around 1010.
The mediaeval village was in a wooded valley and developed along both sides of the Bourn Brook
. The farming system of common grazing land and six large fields managed in a three-course rotation lasted until the Enclosure Act in 1809. By 1279 there were 183 families and 900 people; the names of fields and families from this time are still known in the area. By the 14th century, Bourn's population dropped to 299 because of factors including the plague
, high taxes, poor weather, the emergence of the yeoman
farmer and decrease in serfdom
.
By the 19th century, settlement in Bourn parish was concentrated along the High Street near the church, though there were also streets and ancient closes in the areas of the village known as Caxton End and Crow End.
The population grew to 945 by 1851. This fell to 587 in 1931, during the Great Depression
, but after World War II
a large influx of squatters from London
came to live on the disused airfield and the population was 1,053 in 1951. Some later occupied Bourn's first council housing estate, Hall Close.
in 1940 as a satellite airfield for nearby RAF Oakington
. It was used by 101 Squadron
Wellington
s for training purposes from 23 July 1941, and from October of that year 101 and 7 Squadron
s used the airfield when Oakington became unavailable.
On 9 April 1941, the airfield was subjected to the first of four raids when a Junkers Ju88C
strafed the airfield buildings and bombed the runway; however, little damage was done and there were no injuries. Two more raids on the 8th and 23 May 1944 were made, the latter damaging two parked De Havilland Mosquito
s.
As the strategic bombing offensive intensified, the losses mounted. By the time of the last operational sortie on 4 April 1945, a total of 164 aircraft had been lost, either from the squadrons based at Bourn or from others trying, and failing, to land on the field. The average age of aircrew was 23 and over a third of these were under 20 years of age. Of the 886 listed names, 648 were killed and many of the 35 injured subsequently died of their wounds. The number killed was probably greater than that of the entire population of the village at the time.
97 Squadron
's Lancasters
were replaced by the Mosquito IXs of 105 Sqn
in March 1944. These Oboe
-equipped aircraft were able to identify targets with great precision and then mark them accurately.
In December 1944, 162 Squadron
was formed at Bourn with Canadian
-built Mosquito XXs and XXVs which flew almost nightly to Berlin
, target-marking for the Light Night Strike Force. The two squadrons operated together from Bourn for much of the rest of the war.
From 1941 to 1945, damaged Stirlings
were repaired and test-flown from Bourn. These were transported to the airfield from the Sebro factory near Madingley
which later continued its work with RAF and United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF), B-24 Liberator
s. The Bourn and Madingley units together employed up to 4,500 personnel.
The airfield was passed on to Maintenance Command in 1947. By 1948, the station was closed and the last sections were sold off for agricultural use in 1961.
Now the Rural Flying Corps uses part of the runway for light aircraft; small industrial developments occupy other areas of the site. On Bank Holidays, Bourn Market uses much of the old runways for stalls.
by three councillors for the Bourn ward and on Cambridgeshire County Council
by one councillor. It is in the parliamentary constituency of South Cambridgeshire, represented at the House of Commons by Andrew Lansley
.
and south of Cambourne
. It is 8 miles (12 km) west of Cambridge
and 47 miles (76 km) north of London
. The South Cambridgeshire (Parishes) Order 2004 created a new parish of Cambourne and changed the boundaries of Bourn parish.
Bourn parish ranges from 32 to 72 metres above sea level and the soil is clay with a gault subsoil. In 2001, the area of the parish was 1,660 hectares.
and 29.9% said they had no religion or did not state one.
The body of the mill, the 'buck', contains all the machinery and is balanced on a 'post' supported by an oak trestle, which supports the entire weight of the mill, and bolted to four brick piers. Four sails and millstones in front of the post balance the double steps (which act as a thrust support when down) and the tail pole behind (which is used to turn the sails into the wind). It is called a 'Post Mill' because of its supporting post.
The sails have to face squarely into the wind so the buck, with the weight of all its machinery, has to be turned. First the talber (step lever) is pulled down and hooked into place to raise the steps, then the miller pushes the tail pole round and lastly lowers the steps again. The sails will turn without canvas in a strong wind but two 'common sails' (with close slats) can be 'clothed' by threading ringed canvasses on to central steel rods and roping them on to the sails. The other pair were fitted with 'automatic spring shutters' which opened releasing wind pressure when it blew too hard. Only two broken shutters remain of these.
The mill was repaired and restored in 2003 after a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund
and the sails can now turn, though it is not used for grinding.
The present Bourn Hall
is built on the site of a wooden castle that was burnt down during the Peasants' Revolt
. A timber-framed house built early in the 16th Century was added to in 1602 by the Hagar family in the form of a three-sided courtyard hall. Rainwater gutters at the front of the Hall still have the initials of John and Francis Hagar.
The Hagar family left Bourn Hall in 1733 and the estate belonged to the De La Warrs until 1883. During this period Bourn was visited by Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert while they were staying at Wimpole Hall
. The last family connection with the village was Lady Mary, daughter of the 7th Earl and wife of Major Griffin, who bought the Hall in 1921 and lived there until 1957. The property was then acquired by Peter and Ann King. Bourn Hall was bought by Patrick Steptoe
and Bob Edwards
in 1980 and became a world-famous clinic for the treatment of infertility
.
A new school building was built in 1958 on the edge of the village, adjacent to open fields. It is within walking distance of most of the village. The school serves a large rural area of about 24 square miles (62.2 km²). It is designated a Church of England
controlled school. Bourn School serves the villages of Bourn, Caxton
, Longstowe
and Kingston
and is in the catchment area
of Comberton Village College, one of the best state secondary schools in the country (as of 2005).
by Picot
, the Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, who built his wooden castle next to it. The current stone church, dedicated to St Mary and St Helena, dates from the 12th century onwards and is built of field stones and ashlar
, with dressings of limestone
and clunch
, in the Transition Norman, Early English and Later styles. Following the Reformation
, the church was given to Christ's College, Cambridge
, which is patron and responsible for the chancel
repairs. The tower has a twisted spire and houses a belfry
with a full peal of eight bells. There are some pictures and a description of the church at the Cambridgeshire Churches website .
Memorials in the church include one to Erasmus Ferrar, brother of Nicholas Ferrar
, founder of the Anglican community at Little Gidding
. John Collett, farmer, of Bourn Manor was the husband of Susannah, sister to Erasmus and Nicholas who were frequent visitors to the parish where the family took refuge from the plague
. There were Protestant dissenters in Bourn from 1644 and there was a Methodist Chapel active in the village until 1982. The ecclesiastical parish
is in the diocese of Ely
.
South Cambridgeshire
South Cambridgeshire is a mostly rural local government district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. It surrounds the city of Cambridge, which is administered separately from the district by...
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Surrounding villages include Caxton
Caxton, Cambridgeshire
Caxton is a small rural village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is 9 miles west of the county town of Cambridge. In 2001, the population of Caxton parish was 480 people. Caxton is most famous for the Caxton Gibbet.-History:...
, Eltisley
Eltisley
Eltisley is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, on the A428 road about 5.5 miles east of St Neots and about 11 miles west of the city of Cambridge. The population in 2001 was 421 people.-History:...
and Cambourne. It is 8 miles (12 km) from the county town of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. The population of the parish was 1,764 people at the time of the 2001 census.
Bourn has a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
primary school, a doctors' surgery, the Church of St. Mary & St. Helena, a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
club, a former Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
base (RAF Bourn 1940-1945), which is used for light aircraft, and an old windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
. Bourn Hall Clinic
Bourn Hall Clinic
Bourn Hall Clinic in Bourn, Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the world's leading centres for the treatment of infertility. The original building, Bourn Hall, is about 400 years old...
, a centre for infertility treatment, is located here. A small stream called Bourn Brook
Bourn Brook, Cambridgeshire
Bourn Brook is a minor tributary of the River Cam in Cambridgeshire, England.It has its source just to the east of the village of Eltisley, 10 miles west of Cambridge, where the hills rise to around 60 metres above sea level...
runs through the village, eventually joining the River Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
.
History
The name Bourn is derived from the Old English burna or Old Scandinavian brunnr, meaning '(place at) the spring(s) or stream(s)'. It was spelled Brune in the 1086 Domesday bookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
Bourn has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years. Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
remains have been found along the Bourn Brook
Bourn Brook, Cambridgeshire
Bourn Brook is a minor tributary of the River Cam in Cambridgeshire, England.It has its source just to the east of the village of Eltisley, 10 miles west of Cambridge, where the hills rise to around 60 metres above sea level...
and near Bourn Hall and there is evidence of Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
activity along the top of the valley on the airfield and in the direction of Caxton
Caxton, Cambridgeshire
Caxton is a small rural village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is 9 miles west of the county town of Cambridge. In 2001, the population of Caxton parish was 480 people. Caxton is most famous for the Caxton Gibbet.-History:...
. Three tumuli on Alms Hill are of Roman and Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
origin and the two which were excavated in 1909 contained Roman coins and pottery, a Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic button and evidence of Danish feasting commemorating the death of a leader or celebrating a victory around 1010.
The mediaeval village was in a wooded valley and developed along both sides of the Bourn Brook
Bourn Brook, Cambridgeshire
Bourn Brook is a minor tributary of the River Cam in Cambridgeshire, England.It has its source just to the east of the village of Eltisley, 10 miles west of Cambridge, where the hills rise to around 60 metres above sea level...
. The farming system of common grazing land and six large fields managed in a three-course rotation lasted until the Enclosure Act in 1809. By 1279 there were 183 families and 900 people; the names of fields and families from this time are still known in the area. By the 14th century, Bourn's population dropped to 299 because of factors including the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
, high taxes, poor weather, the emergence of the yeoman
Yeoman
Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
farmer and decrease in serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
.
By the 19th century, settlement in Bourn parish was concentrated along the High Street near the church, though there were also streets and ancient closes in the areas of the village known as Caxton End and Crow End.
The population grew to 945 by 1851. This fell to 587 in 1931, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, but after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a large influx of squatters from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
came to live on the disused airfield and the population was 1,053 in 1951. Some later occupied Bourn's first council housing estate, Hall Close.
RAF Bourn
Bourn Airfield was constructed for RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
in 1940 as a satellite airfield for nearby RAF Oakington
RAF Oakington
RAF Oakington was an RAF base situated in Cambridgeshire, England.Construction was started in 1939, but was affected by the outbreak of war, the original plan called for Type C hangars two type J were erected instead. It was used by No. 2 Group in July 1940 for No. 218 Squadron which had recently...
. It was used by 101 Squadron
No. 101 Squadron RAF
No. 101 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Vickers VC10 C1K, K3 and K4 from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Since 10 Squadron disbanded in 2005, the squadron is the only operator of the VC10.-Formation and early years:...
Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
s for training purposes from 23 July 1941, and from October of that year 101 and 7 Squadron
No. 7 Squadron RAF
No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC.2 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.-Formation and early years:No. 7 Squadron was formed at Farnborough Airfield on 1 May 1914 as the last squadron of the RFC to be formed before the First World War, but has been disbanded and reformed...
s used the airfield when Oakington became unavailable.
On 9 April 1941, the airfield was subjected to the first of four raids when a Junkers Ju88C
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
strafed the airfield buildings and bombed the runway; however, little damage was done and there were no injuries. Two more raids on the 8th and 23 May 1944 were made, the latter damaging two parked De Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
s.
As the strategic bombing offensive intensified, the losses mounted. By the time of the last operational sortie on 4 April 1945, a total of 164 aircraft had been lost, either from the squadrons based at Bourn or from others trying, and failing, to land on the field. The average age of aircrew was 23 and over a third of these were under 20 years of age. Of the 886 listed names, 648 were killed and many of the 35 injured subsequently died of their wounds. The number killed was probably greater than that of the entire population of the village at the time.
97 Squadron
No. 97 Squadron RAF
No. 97 Squadron, was a Royal Air Force squadron formed on December 1, 1917 at Waddington, Lincolnshire, first as a training unit, until moving to Netheravon in March 1918, and re-equipping with the Handley Page O/400 heavy bomber. The squadron served in France for the remainder of the war...
's Lancasters
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
were replaced by the Mosquito IXs of 105 Sqn
No. 105 Squadron RAF
No. 105 Squadron was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force, active for three periods between 1917 and 1969. It was originally established during the First World War as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and disbanded after the war. Reactivated shortly before the Second World War, it was...
in March 1944. These Oboe
Oboe (navigation)
Oboe was a British aerial blind bombing targeting system in World War II, based on radio transponder technology. Oboe accurately measured the distance to an aircraft, and gave the pilot guidance on whether or not they were flying along a pre-selected circular route. The route was only 35 yards...
-equipped aircraft were able to identify targets with great precision and then mark them accurately.
In December 1944, 162 Squadron
No. 162 Squadron RAF
No. 162 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a radio jamming/calibration and light bomber unit in World War II.-Formation and World War I:No...
was formed at Bourn with Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-built Mosquito XXs and XXVs which flew almost nightly to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, target-marking for the Light Night Strike Force. The two squadrons operated together from Bourn for much of the rest of the war.
From 1941 to 1945, damaged Stirlings
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
were repaired and test-flown from Bourn. These were transported to the airfield from the Sebro factory near Madingley
Madingley
Madingley is a village near Coton and Dry Drayton on the western outskirts of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Known as Madingelei in the Domesday Book, the village's name means "Woodland clearing of the family or followers of a man called Mada"....
which later continued its work with RAF and United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
(USAAF), B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s. The Bourn and Madingley units together employed up to 4,500 personnel.
The airfield was passed on to Maintenance Command in 1947. By 1948, the station was closed and the last sections were sold off for agricultural use in 1961.
Now the Rural Flying Corps uses part of the runway for light aircraft; small industrial developments occupy other areas of the site. On Bank Holidays, Bourn Market uses much of the old runways for stalls.
Governance
Bourn parish council has nine councillors. The parish is represented on South Cambridgeshire District CouncilSouth Cambridgeshire District Council
South Cambridgeshire District Council is the local authority for the district of South Cambridgeshire in Cambridgeshire, England. Based in Cambourne, it forms the lower part of the two tier system of local government in the district, below Cambridgeshire County Council...
by three councillors for the Bourn ward and on Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council currently consists of 69 councillors, representing 60 electoral divisions. The Conservative Party has a majority on the council, having gained control in the 1997 local elections...
by one councillor. It is in the parliamentary constituency of South Cambridgeshire, represented at the House of Commons by Andrew Lansley
Andrew Lansley
Andrew David Lansley, CBE, MP is the UK Secretary of State for Health, who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for South Cambridgeshire since the 1997 general election, and was Shadow Secretary of State for Health from June 2004 until becoming Secretary of State for Health in May 2010...
.
Geography
Bourn village is north of the B1046 road, east of CaxtonCaxton, Cambridgeshire
Caxton is a small rural village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is 9 miles west of the county town of Cambridge. In 2001, the population of Caxton parish was 480 people. Caxton is most famous for the Caxton Gibbet.-History:...
and south of Cambourne
Cambourne
Cambourne is a new settlement and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, in the district of South Cambridgeshire. It lies on the A428 road between Cambridge, 9 miles to the east, and St Neots and Bedford to the west. It comprises the three villages of Great Cambourne, Lower Cambourne and Upper...
. It is 8 miles (12 km) west of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and 47 miles (76 km) north of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The South Cambridgeshire (Parishes) Order 2004 created a new parish of Cambourne and changed the boundaries of Bourn parish.
Bourn parish ranges from 32 to 72 metres above sea level and the soil is clay with a gault subsoil. In 2001, the area of the parish was 1,660 hectares.
Demography
At the time of the 2001 census, the population of Bourn parish was 1,764 people living in 713 households. 96.1% were White, 1.4% Asian or Asian British, 0.2% Black or Black British, and 1.2% 'other'. 68.6% described themselves as ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and 29.9% said they had no religion or did not state one.
Landmarks
A war memorial to commemorate Bourn men who died in the First and Second World Wars stands at the junction of the High Street and Short Street.Mill
The Post Mill dates from at least 1636, when it was sold by John Cook. In 1741, Richard Bishop was killed when he was trying to turn the mill in high winds and part of it blew down. The mill was sold in 1926 when it became outmoded by engines fuelled by paraffin. It has been owned by the Cambridge Preservation Society since 1932.The body of the mill, the 'buck', contains all the machinery and is balanced on a 'post' supported by an oak trestle, which supports the entire weight of the mill, and bolted to four brick piers. Four sails and millstones in front of the post balance the double steps (which act as a thrust support when down) and the tail pole behind (which is used to turn the sails into the wind). It is called a 'Post Mill' because of its supporting post.
The sails have to face squarely into the wind so the buck, with the weight of all its machinery, has to be turned. First the talber (step lever) is pulled down and hooked into place to raise the steps, then the miller pushes the tail pole round and lastly lowers the steps again. The sails will turn without canvas in a strong wind but two 'common sails' (with close slats) can be 'clothed' by threading ringed canvasses on to central steel rods and roping them on to the sails. The other pair were fitted with 'automatic spring shutters' which opened releasing wind pressure when it blew too hard. Only two broken shutters remain of these.
The mill was repaired and restored in 2003 after a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
and the sails can now turn, though it is not used for grinding.
Bourn Hall
Bourn Hall Clinic
Bourn Hall Clinic in Bourn, Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the world's leading centres for the treatment of infertility. The original building, Bourn Hall, is about 400 years old...
is built on the site of a wooden castle that was burnt down during the Peasants' Revolt
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt, Wat Tyler's Rebellion, or the Great Rising of 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the...
. A timber-framed house built early in the 16th Century was added to in 1602 by the Hagar family in the form of a three-sided courtyard hall. Rainwater gutters at the front of the Hall still have the initials of John and Francis Hagar.
The Hagar family left Bourn Hall in 1733 and the estate belonged to the De La Warrs until 1883. During this period Bourn was visited by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
and Prince Albert while they were staying at Wimpole Hall
Wimpole Hall
Wimpole Hall is a country house located within the Parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about 8½ miles southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its 3,000 acres of parkland and farmland are owned by the National Trust and are regularly open to the public.Wimpole is...
. The last family connection with the village was Lady Mary, daughter of the 7th Earl and wife of Major Griffin, who bought the Hall in 1921 and lived there until 1957. The property was then acquired by Peter and Ann King. Bourn Hall was bought by Patrick Steptoe
Patrick Steptoe
Patrick Christopher Steptoe FRS was a British obstetrician and gynaecologist and a pioneer of fertility treatment. Steptoe was responsible with biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards for developing in vitro fertilization...
and Bob Edwards
Robert Edwards (physiologist)
Sir Robert Geoffrey Edwards, CBE, FRS is a British physiologist and pioneer in Reproductive medicine and in-vitro fertilization in particular. Along with surgeon Patrick Steptoe, Edwards successfully pioneered conception through IVF, which led to the birth of the first test-tube baby, Louise...
in 1980 and became a world-famous clinic for the treatment of infertility
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
.
Education
Bourn has a history of education in the village from 1520. From 1819, boys were taught in the church tower and girls received a more limited education in a nearby cottage. The Church and the Hall combined to build a school in 1866, designed for 144 children. Within three years, 81 children were attending, paying 2d, 3d or 6d for their schooling. This school was closed in 1958 and became the Village Hall which has recently been extended and improved with grant aid, and is a meeting place for village functions.A new school building was built in 1958 on the edge of the village, adjacent to open fields. It is within walking distance of most of the village. The school serves a large rural area of about 24 square miles (62.2 km²). It is designated a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
controlled school. Bourn School serves the villages of Bourn, Caxton
Caxton, Cambridgeshire
Caxton is a small rural village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is 9 miles west of the county town of Cambridge. In 2001, the population of Caxton parish was 480 people. Caxton is most famous for the Caxton Gibbet.-History:...
, Longstowe
Longstowe
-Demography:At the time of the 2001 census, Longstowe had 193 residents living in 73 households. All described themselves as White; 73.6% were Christian and 26.4% did not follow a religion or did not state one.-Landmarks:...
and Kingston
Kingston, Cambridgeshire
Kingston is a small village and parish in the East of England region and the county Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. Situated 7 miles to the west of Cambridge, the population at the time of the 2001 census was 214....
and is in the catchment area
Catchment area (human geography)
In human geography, a catchment area is the area and population from which a city or individual service attracts visitors or customers. For example, a school catchment area is the geographic area from which students are eligible to attend a local school...
of Comberton Village College, one of the best state secondary schools in the country (as of 2005).
Religious sites
Following the Norman Conquest, a wooden church at Bourn was given to the monks of Barnwell PrioryBarnwell Priory
Barnwell Priory was an Augustinian priory at Barnwell in Cambridgeshire, founded as a house of Canons Regular.The priory was home to the Barnwell chronicler, an anonymous chronicler who wrote about the reign of King John.-References:...
by Picot
Picot of Cambridge
Picot of Cambridge was a Norman landowner and Sheriff of Cambridgeshire.Born in Saye, Normandy, he rose from obscurity to become Sheriff of Cambridgeshire aa early as 1071 until at least 1090...
, the Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, who built his wooden castle next to it. The current stone church, dedicated to St Mary and St Helena, dates from the 12th century onwards and is built of field stones and ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
, with dressings of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and clunch
Clunch
Clunch is a term for traditional building material used mainly in eastern England and Normandy. It is a term which encompasses a wide variety of materials, often locally variable....
, in the Transition Norman, Early English and Later styles. Following the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the church was given to Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, which is patron and responsible for the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
repairs. The tower has a twisted spire and houses a belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
with a full peal of eight bells. There are some pictures and a description of the church at the Cambridgeshire Churches website .
Memorials in the church include one to Erasmus Ferrar, brother of Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar was an English scholar, courtier, businessman and man of religion. Ordained deacon in the Church of England, he retreated with his extended family to the manor of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, where he lived the rest of his life.-Early life:Nicholas Ferrar was born in London,...
, founder of the Anglican community at Little Gidding
Little Gidding, Cambridgeshire
Little Gidding is a parish and small village in Huntingdonshire , England, near Sawtry and north west of Huntingdon.-History:The parish of Little Gidding is small, consisting of only 724 acres...
. John Collett, farmer, of Bourn Manor was the husband of Susannah, sister to Erasmus and Nicholas who were frequent visitors to the parish where the family took refuge from the plague
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. There were Protestant dissenters in Bourn from 1644 and there was a Methodist Chapel active in the village until 1982. The ecclesiastical parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
is in the diocese of Ely
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
.
External links
- Bourn Village Website
- Bourn Hall Clinic for infertility
- Bourn Church of England Primary School
- Rural Flying Corps
- Bourn Golf club
- Black Thursday The story of a tragic night in the history of 97 Squadron and RAF Bourn