Calne Blue Plaque Trail

The Calne Blue Plaque Trail is a walk around the centre of Calne visiting 10 points of interest. All the points along the walk are marked with a blue plaque.

Use the Google map below to see where each plaque is situated.

Go to View The Calne Blue Plaque Trail in a larger map to see more detail, read descriptions of each point of interest and print yourself a map with the accompanying text for each point.

Guided tours of the Blue Plaque Trail can be arranged for the cost of a donation to the Heritage Centre. Please contact Sue Boddington on +44 (0)1380 828851 or email.

The walk assumes starting from Calne Heritage Centre but you can begin from any convenient point.

Points On The Trail

• The Bath Road Pump: from the Heritage Centre, cross the road to the bridge that leads to Marden House. 1st blue plaque on the brick gate post by the pump.
• The Wharf: stay on the same side of the road and walk towards the Town Hall. You will see the next plaque facing you at the site of the canal wharf.
• Castle House: go around the Town Hall and toil up Cox’s Hill to Castle House where you will find the 3rd blue plaque
• Buckeridge Steps: turn back along Castle Street, along the narrow bit and come down Market Hill to Buckeridge’s Steps, where you will find blue plaque 4
• The Quaker Meeting House: cross the road from Buckeridge’s to the High Street, perhaps pausing to look at the last building at the end of the High Street, opposite Buckeridge’s- a very fine early 18th century building that was a butcher’s shop in 19th century. Go up the High Street into Wood Street and part way along the street, high up on an empty building, up for sale, you will find the 5th blue plaque.
• Harris’ Bacon Factory: come back down the High Street, past the Library and into Church Street until you come to the wooden bridge across the Marden, where you will find plaque 6.
• Proclamation Steps: from here go on down Church Street and into Mill Street where you will find plaque 7.
• Church House – Dr. Jan Ingen Housz: go along the narrow lane from the steps into Church Street coming out by Church House, on the wall of which you will find plaque 8.
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge: look across the road to a house in Church Street for the next blue plaque.
• Weavers House: now go along Church Street and round on to the Green, perhaps pointing out the Alms Houses as you pass and as you walk along the North east side [the Church side] of the Green you will come to the final blue plaque.

Here endeth the blue plaques, but while you are on the Green you could mention that
nos. 10, 12 and 13 are good examples of how the rich clothiers had their houses refronted to reflect their growing wealth and status.
Robert Adam, the famous architect, stayed at No. 13, the house with the pineapple finials on the roof, while he was working at Bowood.
No.19, Priestley House was indeed inhabited by Joseph Priestley, the scientist but only for a very short while, because he soon moved to the Old Vicarage in Mill Street, where he could often be found wading in the pond at the bottom of the vicarage garden. This is the real location of Doctor’s Pond, rather than the stretch of water further down by the supermarket.

Perhaps you could then come to the Heritage Centre to look at the photos of some of the things you have been discussing or perhaps you will repair to the patch of Blue or the Lansdowne!