Bourne End, Buckinghamshire

Bourne End's original location differed from today's established village centre, and was a half-mile downstream on the River Thames. The name refers to the end of the river (bourne being an obsolete term for river), and derived from the mouth of the River Wye. Then a hamlet, it appears on Morden's 1722 map of Buckinghamshire as "Born end".[2] It was noted in the 19th century, however, that the name had been corrupted to "Bone End", apparently through local mispronunciation and thence on official maps and documents. In 1858, the vicar of Wooburn succeeded in reversing the change, and the corrected name remains in use today.[3]

The length of the River Wye was the provider of water power for many mills in the valley for hundreds of years, and Bourne End was no exception. There were four on the final stretch of the river: Princes Mill, Jacksons (or Gunpowder) Mill, Hedsor Mill and Lower Mill. These mills were historically the predominant employers in the area, along with the local farms and two wharfs on the Thames.

In the early nineteenth century, the settlement known as Bourne End was a hamlet of Wooburn parish, along with others such as Spring Gardens, Eghams Green, Cores End, Heavens Lea and Upper Bourne End. This changed with the emergence of the Wycombe Railway Company in 1846. By 1854, Isambard Kingdom Brunel had designed and constructed a railway linking Maidenhead to High Wycombe, via Bourne End. The station at Bourne End was originally named Marlow Road; then in 1873 a branch line to Marlow was built, and a year later the station was renamed Bourne End station to avoid confusion with the new station at Marlow town.[4] The railway created more travel opportunities for locals and greatly benefited the mills, and thus Bourne End expanded, on a greater scale than other similar settlements in the surrounding area. See Marlow Branch Line and Marlow Donkey for more information.

The hamlets soon merged into what is now known as Bourne End, as did Well End and Coldmoorholme in the neighbouring parish of Little Marlow. Both a church and school were built at the turn of the century for the residents' convenience. The Parade became established as the focal point of the village for shops and services.

In the 1920s Bourne End became home for two distinguished literary figures; Enid Blyton, a perennially popular children's writer, moved into Old Thatch on Coldmoorholme Lane, and Edgar Wallace, a prolific crime author and dramatist, bought Chalklands off Blind Lane. Another resident at this time was Louis Blériot, the French aviator and aircraft builder, who lived at New York Lodge beside the Thames.[5]

The Royalty Cinema opened in The Parade in 1934. The late 1940s saw extensive development in Bourne End, of the Chalklands estate and the Council Estate north of The Parade. The 1960s saw the building of the Community Centre and Library in Wakeman Road after some years of local campaigning.

The Beeching Axe hit the village in 1969, as it was announced that the line between Bourne End and High Wycombe would be closed. The track bed was lifted soon after closure in 1970. A commercial estate was developed adjacent to the station, though most of the course taken by the railway remains as a footpath between the village and Wooburn.

Bourne End Marina on the River Thames

The village has two recreation grounds (Furlong Road and Blind Lane), riverside open space at the marina and Spade Oak Reach, a Junior Sports Club and fitness centre and the long-established Upper Thames Sailing Club. For many residents and visitors alike, the river is the central attraction of Bourne End, and many leisure pursuits involve or revolve around it. The Sailing Club traditionally host a week-long regatta every year in June, known as Bourne End Week.

Bourne End hosts a number of restaurants of varying cuisines. There are also a number of public houses.

Near Bourne End, across the River Thames, is Cock Marsh, an area of common land and floodplain owned by the National Trust. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and includes a prehistoric burial mound. Cock Marsh is accessible via the footbridge attached to the railway bridge over the river, and footpaths continue to Cookham, Cookham Dean and beyond.

The Thames Path National Trail follows the River Thames through Bourne End; upstream on the Buckinghamshire side, crossing the river at the footbridge, and downstream through Berkshire.

Bourne End has three schools:

• Westfield School, on Highfield Road, a special school which was the village First School until 1995.
• Claytons Primary School, in Wendover Road, the village junior school which was formerly a Middle School and was merged with Westfield.
• Bourne End Academy, in New Road, an upper school which has specialist Sports College status. Before its amalgamation with Pembroke School, Flackwell Heath, in 1985, this was known as Deyncourt School, and subsequently as Wye Valley School until 2014. From late 2012 to late 2014, the school was suffering from poor results in OFSTED evaluations, and was ultimately placed into Special Measures and given the academy status.

There are a number of pre-schools and nurseries across the village.

The village currently has three active churches. The Anglican parish church, in Station Road, is dedicated to St Mark. It was built in 1889 as a daughter church of St Paul's, Wooburn. The Roman Catholic church of St Dunstan is in the centre of the village, off Cores End Road. The longest established is the United Reformed Church in Cores End, which was founded as a Congregational Chapel in 1773, as a nonconformist alternative to St Paul's in Wooburn.

Bourne End had a Methodist Church in Furlong Road, which closed in 2002. Well End once had a Congregational mission hall, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; this is now a residential house named The Chapel.

Bourne End also has the only UK branch of the Ramakrishna Mission, situated at the Vedanta Centre.[6]

Bourne End continues to support a bustling array of shops, chiefly in The Parade. Community events focused on the village centre, such as "Fun Night" in December, have attempted to turn residents' attention to upholding local trade and businesses. There is a small parade of shops in Furlong Road, including the main Post Office.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bourne End.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bourne End.

• Bourne End Community Centre website
• Bourne End, Bucks — community website
• The Bourne End (Bucks) Twinning Association website
• The Octeville sur Mer Twinning Association website