Bourn | |
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Bourn shown within Cambridgeshire | |
Population | 1,015 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | TL327563 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CAMBRIDGE |
Postcode district | CB23 |
Dialling code | 01954 |
Police | Cambridgeshire |
Fire | Cambridgeshire |
Ambulance | East of England |
EU Parliament | East of England |
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 people 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), which today is used for light aircraft, and an old windmill. Bourn Hall Clinic, the centre for infertility treatment founded in 1980 by IVF pioneers Mr Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards, who were responsible for the conception of Louise Brown, the world's first IVF or test-tube baby in 1978, is also located here. Since its foundation the clinic has assisted in the conception of over 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.
Bourn has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years. Roman remains have been found along the Bourn Brook and near Bourn Hall and there is evidence of Romano-British activity 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 which 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.