Bourne End is a village mostly in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
Wooburn, but partly in that of
Little Marlow in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
, England. It is about five miles (8 km) south-east of
High Wycombe and three miles (5 km) east of
Marlow, near the boundary with
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
and close to where the Buckinghamshire
River Wye empties into the Thames.
History
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".
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.
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.
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 (or Coldmoorholm, formerly ''Coldmoorham'' or ''Coldmorham'') in the neighbouring parish of Little Marlow. Locally, the area of Coldmoorholm is known as 'Spade Oak'. 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.
[Christopher Winn: ''I Never Knew That about the Thames'' (London: Ebury Press, 2010), p. 112.]
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, which had suffered reduced usage after the direct connection between Wycombe and London by the opening of the
Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway in 1899, 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.
Geography
Locale
Bourne End lies between the
M4 and
M40 motorways, and retains its railway station on the
Maidenhead to
Marlow Branch Line. With rail and road accessibility to London, it has become a popular place for
commuters to live.
All of the mills along the Wye Valley have now been shut down and demolished, Jacksons Mill in Furlong Road being the last (in Bourne End) in the late 1980s. These have been replaced by houses, offices or industrial estates, which has led to the continuation of the village as an employment centre.
Bourne End remains a distinct settlement, although the continued house-building over the past century means it is threatened by the evident
ribbon development, through to High Wycombe. In 1997, when the Local Plan was in preparation, the Residents Associations of Bourne End and Wooburn successfully lobbied to stop Slate Meadow (the field which separates the two settlements) being designated for housing for the time being. Other undeveloped land around the village looks likely to remain so, as it has been specified as
Green Belt, an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
, or a combination of the three. In parts, Bourne End is surrounded by
farmland. Somewhat further away,
Cliveden and
Hedsor overlook the village from higher ground to the south east.
Community
Bourne End sustains many businesses and services whilst still retaining a village atmosphere. There is a Community Centre in the centre of the village, with a large hall, function rooms and a bar, which is open for member's use. It is, for many, considered the focal point of village activity.
In the early 2000s, a Twinning Association was established, and subsequently
Octeville-sur-Mer, a town on the north coast of France, was chosen to be its twin town. Frequent events are held by members of the association to foster and enhance the relationship between the two settlements.
Administration and services
The local government of the village is made up of two tiers.
Wooburn and Bourne End Parish Council (formerly Wooburn Parish Council, until 2005), based in
Wooburn; and
Buckinghamshire County Council, based in
Aylesbury which was established as a unitary authority in 2020. The local police force is
Thames Valley Police. Local healthcare services are commissioned by
Buckinghamshire Primary Care Trust (PCT);
GPs operate from The Hawthornden Surgery in Wharf Lane, and The Orchard Surgery in Station Road. Pound House Surgery at Wooburn Green is part of the same group of practices and nurses and other medical staff operate between all three. There are two dentists, the Bourne End Dental Practice, and Advance Dental Services, both in Station Road.
Leisure
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
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
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.
Education
Bourne End has three schools:
*Westfield School, on Highfield Road, a
special school which was the village
First School
Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system.
Terminology
In a three-tier local educa ...
until 1995.
*Claytons Primary School, in Wendover Road, the village
junior school
A junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at an infant school, which covers the age range 5–7. Since both infant and junior schools provide pri ...
which was formerly a
Middle School
Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school.
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
and was merged with Westfield.
*
Bourne End Academy, in New Road, an
upper school
Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school.
England
The three-tier model
Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority ...
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
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...
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.
Religion
The village currently has three active churches. The
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
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
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
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, Ramakrishna Vedanta centre .
Shopping
Bourne End has some 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.
Noted inhabitants
*
Louis Blériot (1872–1936), French aviator, inventor, and engineer.
*
Enid Blyton (1897–1968), English children’s writer
*Sir
Bernard Chacksfield (1913–1999) Royal Air Force officer.
*
Bud Flanagan (1896–1968), British music hall and vaudeville entertainer and comedian)
*Sir
Arthur Harden FRS (1865–1940), Nobel Prize-winning biochemist
*
Renée Houston 1902–1980), Scottish comedy actress and revue artist
*
Beatrix Lehmann (1903–1979), British actress, theatre directress, writer and novelist.
*
John Lehmann (1907–1987), poet, publisher, man of letters.
*
Rosamond Lehmann (1901–1990), novelist and translator
*
Edgar Wallace (1875–1932), Crime writer, war correspondent, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright.
References
External links
Bourne End Community Centre websiteBourne End, Bucks — community websiteThe Bourne End (Bucks) Twinning Association websiteThe Octeville sur Mer Twinning Association website
{{authority control
Villages in Buckinghamshire
Populated places on the River Thames