It is bounded to the west by a stretch of the Fosse Way Roman road, which forms the county boundary with Gloucestershire, and to the east by the Bybrook River.

Evidence of early settlement in the area includes three bowl barrows[2] near Thickwood, overlooking the Bybrook valley, and an Iron Age hillfort[3] from around 100 BC[4] in the north of the parish, known as Bury Wood Camp, overlooking the Doncombe valley.

[4] In the 14th century the local economy was based on sheep-rearing, cloth production (assisted by mills on the By Brook) and stone quarrying.

[18] The site was taken over by the Army, named Azimghur Barracks, and became the headquarters of 21 Signal Regiment; this change led to a noticeable drop in the parish population.

The 13th-century chancel and north-east chapel were largely rebuilt in the restoration of 1875–1877, and at the same time the clerestory and roof of the nave were renewed.

[25] Between the church and Vicarage Lane, the former rectory coach-house which was converted from an 18th-century barn has pieces of medieval carved stonework in its east wall, inserted during the Victorian restoration.

[20] Nearby at the south-east corner of the Market Place is the 1842 rectory, faced in stucco with ashlar dressings.

[33] In the centre of the Market Place, in a triangular enclosure bounded by iron railings, is a tall stone column carrying a sundial: a memorial to Richard Walmesley (1816–1893) of Lucknam Park.

[35] A Celtic cross in the churchyard, mounted on medieval steps, was designed in the early 20th century by Harold Brakspear.

This is the legendary site where the body of St Aldhelm rested overnight whilst being taken to Malmesbury Abbey for burial in 709 A.D.".

Colerne's historic core sits on a high ridge, though some of its stone-built houses are located down the valley side to the south.

The Lucknam Park Hotel, originally a Georgian country house but much expanded in the Victorian era, is around 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village, near Thickwood.

[41] Colerne Park and Monk's Wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, south and east of the village.

[42] As the "Village on the Hill", Colerne is in an exposed position and local people are well aware that the weather will often be the opposite of that in nearby, but low-lying, Bath.

[citation needed] Yet another possible derivation is from the Goidelic (Old Irish) cuillean, the Brythonic (Welsh) celyn or celynnen, or the Old English holegn (with the 'h' pronounced gutturally).

It is approximately 30 meters (100 ft) high, and replaced an older tower that was part of a 1930s scheme to bring mains water to the area.

The original tower was located on the eastern edge of the village near the housing estate called Martins Croft (built in the late 1940s-early '50s).