Calne Heritage Centre

Revd John Duncan Revd Canon John Guthrie During this period, St Mary the Virgin at Calne, the parish church, did not have a rector. The vicar 1835- 1865, whose tenure ended with his death, was Revd Canon John Guthrie. In his youth a keen and able cricketer, he married well second time round. Both he and his wife founded schools, his aimed at remedying the deficiencies of working class education. He was seen as representing the low church, evangelical tradition within the Church of England. He would have been hard for any successor to follow. But when his successful ministry ended, the bishop of Salisbury replaced him with the perpetual curate at Lyneham, Revd John Duncan, who was more high church, emphasising vestments, ritual and liturgy. I have not been able to establish whether as seems likely this represented the influence of the Oxford Movement. He too was interested in education, instigating the founding of St Mary’s School, Calne in 1873. Tensions within the church seem to have ...

  A big thank you to the Calne Area Board and the David Harris Trust for their funding contributions.  The new boiler replaces one that had been in service since we opened in 2004. Its replacement ensures the well-being of our volunteers and visitors, alongside helping to keep the temperature stable for the preservation of our archives for generations to come.  Thank you to the volunteers for a fantastic team effort during the process; it couldn't have been done without you. Drop by and visit us during our 2026 season to learn more about Calne's Historical significance and stay warm while you're at it!

At Calne Heritage Centre, we are dedicated to advancing the education of the history and heritage of Calne and the surrounding areas. We do this by presenting historical and cultural information through exhibitions, storyboards, and community engagement. Now, we are looking for a digital specialist to help us expand our reach online! COULD YOU HELP US? Do you have proven experience in managing social media platforms and websites, and are you ready to hit the ground running? Are you looking to bring a fresh perspective to help grow our digital outreach and local history education? Would you like to support our mission largely from home, with the flexibility to schedule posts for your own convenience? If your answer is Yes, you may be the ideal person to join our friendly team at Calne Heritage Centre. CONTACT US Role Flexibility : The majority of this role can be done remotely, and posts can be scheduled flexibly. Contact : To find out more about this opportunity, contact Tim Have...

Calne has a proud manufacturing history, and one of its most famous local names was the Horsebrook Iron Works, better known simply as Maundrell’s. Located at the junction of The Green and Horsebrook, where Edreds Court now stands next to Maundrell House, the foundry grew from a nineteenth century smithy into a thriving business that built everything from farm tools to bacon factory machinery for C&T Harris. Maundrell put the Progress Elevator on his stationery to highlight the machinery that defined his work. Courtesy of G. Carr. The Rolls Royce of Farm Elevators Copy of original image. Edited by author for clarity. The foundry’s defining creation came around 1900, when Edward Ward Maundrell perfected a design for a hay and straw elevator, an agricultural conveyor built to lift loose or baled crops to build ricks and fill storage lofts. Drawing on his earlier days making Progress bicycles in Calne (one of which is on display at Calne Heritage Centre), he branded these rugged mach...

We are pleased to announce that we have copies of The Mayors of Calne , written by our Vice Chair, Tim Havenith. This book follows fifty years of Calne’s civic life, beginning with the first mayor elected in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act and ending with the opening of the new Town Hall in 1886. It traces the people who shaped the borough through everyday decisions, public celebrations, moments of crisis, and the steady work of building a modern civic identity. It includes a full and detailed history of Calne Town Hall, from the long debates that led to its construction to the building of the tower and clock. The book also explores how justice was carried out in the Town Hall, including the work of the magistrates, the courtroom, and the holding cells, showing how law and order were handled in the centre of the town. The story reaches beyond Calne as well. The borough council wrote to Queen Victoria after the attempts on her life, responded to national events, and supported ...