Potterne lies to the south of Devizes on the A360 road to Amesbury and Salisbury. The village is on Gault and Upper Greensand, between the chalk of the Marlborough Downs and Salisbury Plain. Part of the eastern edge of the parish is on Oxford and Kimmeridge clays. There are two streams in the parish, one in the north flowing eastwards, and one in the south flowing southwards and then eastwards. Little Tree on One Tree (Little Tree) Hill is said to have been planted to commemorate the battle of Waterloo (1815) at the top of Potterne Field, at 145 metres above sea level. It is a place remembered by Potterne 'Lambs' wherever they may be. Potterne people are known as 'Lambs' because of their boisterous and unruly behaviour in the 19th century.
The name Potterne is generally taken to mean 'the building for pots, or where pots were made'. It has been suggested that it could also refer to the 10th century font in the baptistery connected to the Saxon church. This would have been used for people from a large area around Potterne. The community here was important for two or three centuries before Devizes was established.
