Collingbourne Ducis is a village and civil parish on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Marlborough. 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.
The architect C.E. Ponting was born in Collingbourne Ducis in 1850. The restoration 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.
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 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.[5]
Sunton, and the northern part of Cadley, were transferred to the parish from Collingbourne Kingston in 1934.[3]
In 1974 a Saxon cemetery of archaeological significance was discovered in Cadley, including one bed burial.[6] 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' character, Mr. Stevens, in the 1993 film The Remains of the Day. The village has one of the few surviving original Victorianpost boxes inset to a flint cobble wall at Sally Lunn's Cottage.[7]
Religious sites
The Church of Englandparish church 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.[3][8] The church is a Grade II* listed building.[9]
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.[12]
Near the school is a village hall with playing fields. The village has two pubs: 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.[13][14]
Twinning Association
Collingbourne and District is twinned with Le Merlerault in Normandy, France. The twinning agreement was made on 18 April 1992.[15]
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