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Bourn
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 1,015 at the time of the 2011 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 bomber airfield (RAF Station Bourn 1940–1945), today used for light aircraft, and an old windmill. Bourn Hall Clinic, the centre for infertility treatment founded in 1980 by IVF pioneers Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards, who were responsible for the conception in 1978 of Louise Brown, the world's first IVF or test-tube baby, is also located here. Since its foundation the clinic has assisted in the conception of more than 10,000 babies.
A small stream called Bourn Brook runs through the village, eventually joining the River Cam.
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 Book. In a hypothesis, the phonetic inconsistencies in the early recorded names of Bourn and the Bourn Brook, Cambridgeshire are suggested to be strikingly similar to those relating to the Battle of Brunanburh fought in 937. The battle, the location of which is unknown and has been speculated to have taken place in over 40 locations from South West England to Scotland, is suggested to have taken place close to the brook, on the open fields of Haslingfield, Harlton and Little Eversden.
Bourn has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years. Roman remains have been found along the Bourn Brook and near Bourn Hall. Evidence of Romano-British activity has been found 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 that were excavated in 1909 contained Roman coins and pottery, a Celtic 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 Bourn Inclosure Act 1809 (49 Geo. 3. c. 38 Pr.). 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 had dropped to 299 because of factors including the plague, high taxes, poor weather, the emergence of the yeoman farmer and the 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 had grown 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.
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Bourn
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 1,015 at the time of the 2011 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 bomber airfield (RAF Station Bourn 1940–1945), today used for light aircraft, and an old windmill. Bourn Hall Clinic, the centre for infertility treatment founded in 1980 by IVF pioneers Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards, who were responsible for the conception in 1978 of Louise Brown, the world's first IVF or test-tube baby, is also located here. Since its foundation the clinic has assisted in the conception of more than 10,000 babies.
A small stream called Bourn Brook runs through the village, eventually joining the River Cam.
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 Book. In a hypothesis, the phonetic inconsistencies in the early recorded names of Bourn and the Bourn Brook, Cambridgeshire are suggested to be strikingly similar to those relating to the Battle of Brunanburh fought in 937. The battle, the location of which is unknown and has been speculated to have taken place in over 40 locations from South West England to Scotland, is suggested to have taken place close to the brook, on the open fields of Haslingfield, Harlton and Little Eversden.
Bourn has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years. Roman remains have been found along the Bourn Brook and near Bourn Hall. Evidence of Romano-British activity has been found 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 that were excavated in 1909 contained Roman coins and pottery, a Celtic 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 Bourn Inclosure Act 1809 (49 Geo. 3. c. 38 Pr.). 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 had dropped to 299 because of factors including the plague, high taxes, poor weather, the emergence of the yeoman farmer and the 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 had grown 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.