Colerne Parish Council

Colerne is a small village situated to the North East of the historical city of Bath. Colerne is commonly dubbed 'The Village On The Hill' due to its elevated location, at 545 feet above sea level. In the 2001 census Colerne had a recorded population of 2,807.

Colerne is in the Cotswolds Area Of Outstanding Beauty, and has stunning views over Box Valley. When looking from the old village well you can see for miles over the valley and beyond. Colerne as a village is steeped in history, first appearing in the Doomsday book of 1086. Other variations of the name have appeared over the ages, names like Culerne, Culerna and Cullerne often appear in writings and listings of and about Colerne, and the village name is still pronounced 'Cullen' by native residents .

A popular local tale refers to the sad demise of the village donkey. It is said that many years ago, the vicar in the village kept a donkey. One year the vicar decided to take a holiday, however he could not take the donkey with him, so he entrusted his faithful pet to a friend. Tragically, while the vicar was on holiday, the donkey died. The vicar's friend felt it only appropriate that they bury the poor animal on consecrated, holy ground. However, the undertaker for the ceremony, somewhat inexperienced at digging graves fit for animals such as donkeys, neglected to dig the hole wide or deep enough, resulting in the poor donkey being buried with his hooves protruding from the ground. This did not go down particularly well with the vicar on his return, and he had the donkey reburied properly in a suitable grave.

Colerne has many monuments that portray its ancient history. In the village market place you can see the old hand tap, where maids used to pump the water to take to the manor house. A short trip down vicarage lane from here, and into Watergates, takes you to the village well. The well was sealed long ago, but still makes an interesting attraction, if only to see the fossils embedded in the rock covering the well entrance.

Colerne is well served with local amenities including the post office, newsagents, hairdressers, doctor's surgery, school and Costcutters shop. For more extensive facilities and supermarket shopping the village is close to Chippenham and Bath.

The village may be best known for its role in the Second World War as the home of RAF Colerne. RAF Colerne served as a base for RAF Fighter Command units from 1940 to 1955. Various squadrons also rotated here on a daily basis. For more information on RAF Colerne, visit the Wikipedia RAF Colerne page.

The village sports a recently rennovated recreation ground, locally known as 'The Rec.' The ground includes outdoor gym equipment, climbing apparatus and other pieces of play equipment such as swings and a slides. The Rec has a large field to the left of it, commonly used for playing sports such as cricket. The football field borders onto the allotments. To the right of the play area, there is also an all weather Football / Basket Ball / Netball pitch.