1. Populations have come and gone from this rural
area through the centuries. Bronze Age burial
mounds on Arne Hill show that humans lived here
some 3-4,000 years ago and we know that the
Romans later had salt works locally. But what
happened after that? Arne village isn’t mentioned
in the Domesday Survey of 1086, but by 1200,
there was a church...
By the 18th century, the village
population had grown and its
history is better documented,
including the opening of a
school in 1832, which survived
until 1922.
Then, in the 20th century, the
Second World War shattered the
rural peace. After a decision to use
Arne in war and peace
this sparsely populated area as a decoy to protect
the nearby cordite factory at Holton Heath, over
300 bombs fell in one night in June 1942, and in
August the village was evacuated.The gun
emplacements which were built on Arne Hill are
still there.
Much of the village remained derelict until the late
1950s and today it is small.The RSPB owns the
surrounding land and have managed it as Arne
nature reserve since 1966.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654. ARN-0832-11-12
ARN-0832-11-12_Arne history panel _Landscape 19/01/2012 13:53 Page 1