Malmesbury is a
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and
civil parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
located in the southern
CotswoldsThe Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in the county of
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England. Historically Malmesbury was a centre for learning and home to
Malmesbury AbbeyMalmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. In 941 AD, King Athelstan was buried in the Abbey. By the 11th century it contained the second largest library in Europe and was...
. Once the site of an Iron Age fort, it is the oldest borough in England, created around 880 AD by charter from Alfred the Great.
History
The hilltop contains several freshwater springs, which helped early settlements. Recent
archaeologicalArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
excavations have revealed stone town wall defences, which have shown history of a
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
fort and foundations of a wooden
Iron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
fort between 800 and 500 BC, making Malmesbury arguably the oldest continually inhabited town in England.
According to
William of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, writing in the 12th century, Malmesbury was a pre-Roman "ancient city of the Britons" known as Caer Bladon.
Wrestled from control of the ancient
BritonsThe Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
by the
SaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
in around 600 AD, Malmesbury is recorded by
Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as the oldest borough in England, although
BarnstapleBarnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
has a counter claim: both were given royal borough status by
Alfred the GreatAlfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
around 880 AD. In 925 AD, King Athelstan of
WessexThe Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
the grandson of Alfred made Malmesbury his capital.
Malmesbury Abbey
The Abbey was founded in 675 by
MaildubhMáel Dub was reputedly an Irish monk of the 7th century said to have founded a monastic house at Malmesbury.It was implied by Bede that the monastery was said to have been named after him Máel Dub (the Gaelic name Máel meaning "disciple" and Dub being a byname, "dark"; Latinized as Maildubus,...
, Mailduf or Maelduib, an Irishman. After the death of Maidulph around 700, Aldhelm became the first abbot and built the first church organ in England, which was described as a "mighty instrument with innumerable tones, blown with bellows, and enclosed in a gilded case." Having founded other churches in the area, including at
Bradford on AvonBradford on Avon is a town in west Wiltshire, England with a population of about 9,326. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists....
, he died in 709 and was canonised. Part of the River Avon on the
SherstonSherston is a village approximately 5 miles to the west of Malmesbury in the English county of Wiltshire. The population in 2001 was 1418 .- History :...
branch to the west of the town centre is called
Daniels Well. Named after the monk Daniel who lived at the abbey in the 9th century, he is said to have submerged himself in the cold water every day for decades to quell fiery passions. The Abbey was the site of an early attempt at human flight, when noted by historian
William of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
(1095–1143) in 1010, the monk
Eilmer of MalmesburyEilmer of Malmesbury was an 11th-century English Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings.- Life :...
flew a primitive
hang gliderHang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
from a tower.
Eilmer flew over 200 yards (182.9 m) before landing, breaking both legs.
At the time of the
NormanNorman dynasty is the usual designation for the family that were the Dukes of Normandy and the English monarchs which immediately followed the Norman conquest and lasted until the Plantagenet dynasty came to power in 1154. It included Rollo and his descendants, and from William the Conqueror and...
invasion in 1066, Malmesbury was one of the most significant towns in England. It is listed first (i.e., most important) in the Wiltshire section of the
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
King Henry IHenry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
's chancellor,
Roger of SalisburyRoger was a Norman medieval Bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England.-Life:...
, seized the monastery under his bishopric in 1118, and held it for 20 years. Renowned as a great builder, he rebuilt the wooden town walls wholly in stone rather than wood, constructing
Malmesbury Castle-Details:The town of Malmesbury was an important settlement in the early medieval period, both as a trading centre and as the site of Malmesbury Abbey. Early in the 12th century the Abbey came under the control of Bishop Roger of Salisbury who built a motte and bailey castle close to the abbey...
at the same time.
By the Dark Ages, the north of the town was heavily developed as a religious centre, resulting in the construction of the third Abbey on the site, the 12th century
Malmesbury AbbeyMalmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. In 941 AD, King Athelstan was buried in the Abbey. By the 11th century it contained the second largest library in Europe and was...
, which had a
spireA spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
taller 23 feet (7 m) taller than the 404 feet (123.1 m) one of
Salisbury CathedralSalisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
.
name=BBCHist/> In 1220 this resulted in the construction of the Abbey guest house, which is now
The Old Bell HotelThe Old Bell Hotel and Restaurant is a hotel and restaurant on the edge of the Cotswolds in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. Built on the remains of outbuildings of Malmesbury Abbey, it lays claim to being the oldest existing hotel in England, standing on foundations dated to 1220, and is a Grade I...
which lays claim to be the oldest hotel in England. During the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Malmesbury is said to have changed hands as many as seven times, resulting on hundreds of pockmarks left by bullets and shot on the south, west and east walls.
The spire collapsed in either the late 15th or early 16th century. This was closely followed by the
English ReformationThe English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
of King
Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, who sold the remainder of lands he did not want to a local clothier William Stumpe. The extant part of the Abbey is now the parish church, with the remains containing a
parviseParvise or parvis may refer to:#A room over the porch of a church — quite often found in Norman churches in England. In some churches these rooms were used for school rooms and in Castle Ashby was the home of a woman - who saved the manor house from burning when she saw the fire taking hold from...
which still holds some fine examples of books from the former Abbey library.
Malmesbury natives are known as
JackdawThe Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
s, originating from the colony of Jackdaws that inhabit the Abbey walls and roof.
Battles
The community was the ancient frontier of two kingdoms, with Tetbury 5 miles (8 km) to the North in
MerciaMercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
and Malmesbury was in the
West Saxon KingdomThe Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
, resulting in centuries of real animosity between the two towns.
The location and defensive position of Malmesbury on the latterly important Oxford to Bristol route made it a strategic military point. During the 12th century civil war between
Stephen of EnglandStephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
and his cousin the
Empress MatildaEmpress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
, the succession agreement between Stephen and
Henry of AnjouHenry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
(later Henry II) was reached after their armies faced each other across the impassable River Avon at Malmesbury in the winter of 1153, with Stephen losing by refusing battle.
During the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, the town changed hands seven times, with the south face of Malmesbury Abbey still today bearing pock-marks from cannon and gunshot. In 1646 Parliament ordered that the town walls be destroyed.
As peace came to inland England, and the need to defend the developing sea located port towns became more important, without its Abbey, Malmesbury lost its importance. As developing transport and trade routes passed it by, it regressed to a regional market town.
Malmesbury Commoners
At the
Battle of BrunanburhThe Battle of Brunanburh was an English victory in 937 by the army of Æthelstan, King of England, and his brother Edmund over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson, the Norse-Gael King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scots, and Owen I, King of Strathclyde...
in 937, King Athelstan of
WessexThe Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
defeated an army of northern
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and
ScotsThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
and made a claim to become the first 'King of All England'. Helped by many men from Malmesbury, in gratitude he gave the townsfolk their freedom, along with 600 hides of land to the south of the town.
The status of freemen of Malmesbury was passed down through the generations and remains to this day. It is likely, however, that the title of freeman, or commoner, was given to tradesmen and craftsmen coming into the town during the early Middle Ages, so the claim of direct lineage from the men who fought with King Athelstan to the present day commoners is unlikely, though possible. Since at least the 17th century, however, the right has been only handed down from father to son or son-in-law. There is a maximum of 280 commoners. The organisation is said to be the 'most exclusive club' in the world, as to enter it one has to be born to a freeman or marry the daughter of one.
Since 2000, and with the possibility of falling numbers, women were admitted for the first time - the daughters of freemen. The organisation, The Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury, still owns the land to the south of the town, along with dozens of properties, pubs and shops within the town itself, providing affordable housing to townsfolk.
Government
Malmesbury Town Council, formed as
successorSuccessor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council created by the Local Government Act 1972 in England. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs that were abolished in 1974. Most successor parish councils exercised the right to...
to the
Municipal boroughMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
, is made up of sixteen councillors, who elect annually a town mayor and deputy town mayor from their number.
For elections to
Wiltshire CouncilWiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
, Malmesbury forms one electoral division, returning a single unitary councillor.
Nationally at
UK GovernmentHer Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
level in the House of Commons, Malmesbury is part of the
North WiltshireNorth Wiltshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until 1983, it was known as Chippenham.- Boundaries :As the name suggests, the constituency covers most of north Wiltshire...
constituency, represented by James Gray (
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
).
Malmesbury is twinned with
NiebüllNiebüll is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the North Sea coast and the border with Denmark, approx. 35 km northwest of Husum.-International relations:...
in Germany, and
GienGien is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.Gien is on the Loire River, from Orléans. The town was bought for the royal property by Philip II of France. The town is twinned with Malmesbury in England.-Sights:*Faience de Gien...
in France.
Geography
Malmesbury sits on a flat Cotswolds hilltop at the convergence of two rivers. From the west, the infant Bristol Avon flows from
SherstonSherston is a village approximately 5 miles to the west of Malmesbury in the English county of Wiltshire. The population in 2001 was 1418 .- History :...
, and from the north west, a tributary either known as the
Tetbury AvonThe Tetbury Avon, also known as the Little Avon or the Ingleburn , is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. It is also referred to as the River Avon . It rises at Tetbury in Gloucestershire in the West Country of England, and flows in a generally south easterly direction, joining the Sherston Avon at...
or, locally, as The Ingleburn. They flow within 100 yards (91.4 m) of each other but are separated by a narrow and high
isthmusAn isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
, just a few yards across, which forces the Bristol Avon south and the Tetbury Avon east. This creates a rocky outcrop as a south-facing, gently sloping hilltop, until the two rivers meet on the southern edge of the town. With steep, and in places cliff-like sides, the town was described by Sir
William WallerSir William Waller was an English soldier during the English Civil War. He received his education at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, and served in the Venetian army and in the Thirty Years' War...
, as the best naturally-defended inland location he had seen.
Economy
Traditionally a
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
serving the rural area of north west Wiltshire, farming has been the main industry. Even today, the
High StreetHigh Street, or the High Street, is a metonym for the generic name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing...
has numerous independent shops and a regular weekly market. Malmesbury had a nine-day wonder
media eventA media event, as loosely defined by evolving modern usage, is an occasion or happening, spontaneous or planned, that attracts prominent coverage by mass media organizations, particularly television news and newspapers in both print and Internet editions....
in January 1998, when two Tamworth pigs known as the
Tamworth TwoThe Tamworth Two were a pair of pigs that escaped while being unloaded from a lorry at an abattoir in the English town of Malmesbury, Wiltshire in January 1998...
escaped from the town's abattoir. They swam the Tetbury branch of the River Avon, across a few fields and lived in an orchard for a week. The story made international headlines with tabloid newspapers and TV news stations fighting each other to sight and then capture the pigs. They now live a comfortable life at the South of England Rare Breeds Centre, near
AshfordAshford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
,
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
where they can be visited.
The Reformation of 1539 brought about a change in the economy of Malmesbury, having no income from the Abbey the town turned to the woollen industry, having access to large quantities of wool and water. It then became a centre of the
laceLace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
-making industry. But, what had made it successful and important as a religious and strategic defensive centre - water on three sides and steep cliffs - precluded easy access for the modern bulk transport methods of canals and railways. Hence both the
Kennet and Avon CanalThe Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...
and the later
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
passed well to the south of the town, leading it to be greatly untouched by the
industrial revolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
The towns main employer today is Dyson, which has its headquarters on the edge of the town, and employs around 1,600 people. The HQ is now mainly a design organisation, with manufacturing carried out in Malaysia. The town's economy is now also a centre for tourism, driven in part by its history and recently by the interest in former poet laureate,
John BetjemanSir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
.
EKCO Factory
At the beginning of the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the electronics company
EKCOEKCO from Eric Kirkham Cole Limited was a British electronics company producing radio and television sets from 1924.Expanding into plastic production for its own use, Ekco Plastics produced both radio cases and later domestic plastic products; the plastics company became Lin Pac Mouldings...
moved part of its operations from
Southend-on-SeaSouthend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
to Cowbridge House, to avoid the danger of bombing. The company established a shadow factory, to produce the essential new technology
radarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
equipment.
The factory continued production after the war, renamed TMC and part of
PhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
it eventually became part of
AT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
. The site was in use as offices until 2004 when the owners, Lucent Technologies, moved their operations to
SwindonSwindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
.
Culture and community
Malmesbury has a thriving
carnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
, which takes place in the last two weeks of August, with the finale procession through the town held on the first Saturday in September. It has grown in recent years to now include more than 30 events, ranging from music events to an attempt on the
world recordA world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
for the largest
pillow fightA pillow fight is a common game mostly played by young children in which they engage in mock physical conflict, utilizing pillows as weapons....
.
The world music festival
Womad Charlton ParkWOMAD Charlton Park is the name given to the World of Music Arts and Dance festival held in Charlton Park in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England, since 2007...
has been held in Charlton Park near Malmesbury since 2007.
Landmarks
What made Malmesbury successful as a town - water and excellent defences - led to both its current layout and the reason that it still retains over 400
listed buildings within its boundaries. Although Roger of Salisbury reconstructed the town after his accession to
Bishop of SalisburyThe Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset...
in 1102, the Saxon layout he rebuilt is still retained in the centre today. However, the geography also precluded easy development for mass transport and hence hindered industrial development, leaving the architecture and ancient buildings largely untouched. The result is a higher proportion of Grade I and Grade II buildings than in many other English towns.
Market Cross
In the centre of the town stands the
Market CrossA market cross is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, originally from the distinctive tradition in Early Medieval Insular art of free-standing stone standing or high crosses, often elaborately carved, which goes back to the 7th century. Market crosses can be found in most...
, built in c1490, possibly using stone salvaged from the recently-ruined part of the abbey. It was described by John Leland
writing in the 1540s as a 'right costly piece of work', which was built
to shelter the 'poore market folke' when 'rain cometh'. An elaborately
carved octagonal structure, it is recognised as one of the best
preserved of its kind in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It still serves its purpose
today, nicknamed 'The Birdcage', because of its appearance, it shelters
market traders by day and as a meeting point at night.
Tower House
A large building of medieval origins, now a private home, Tower House
stands at the end of Oxford Street. It contains a high-roofed main hall
where it is said Henry VIII dined after hunting in nearby Bradon
Forest. In the 1840s, a doctor living in the house, with a passion for
astronomy, built a narrow tower protruding high from the roof. It
dominates the skyline of the east of the town.
The tower now sports a flag pole and flies the union flag (as photo) and sometimes St. Aldhelm's flag.
Bremilham Church
Near the town lies Bremilham Church, located on Cowage Farm, Foxley-cum-Bremilham, which measures just 4 m by 3.6 m. Its single pew
has space for four people and there is standing room for six more. The church, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest church in use in Britain, holds one service to mark Rogationtide. The church can be found by heading west from Malmesbury along Foxley Road.
Transport
Malmesbury railway stationMalmesbury railway station served the town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England. The station was on the short Malmesbury branch from the Great Western Railway's main line from to .-Background:...
opened on 17 December 1877. The
Malmesbury branchThe Malmesbury branch was a six and a half mile long single track branch railway line that ran from Dauntsey railway station on the Great Western Main Line to via one intermediate station, .-History:...
was built largely by the Malmesbury Railway Company, and was completed by the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
who absorbed the Malmesbury Railway Company in May 1877 when the latter could not raise sufficient funds to complete the line. The branch split from the main London-Bristol line at Dauntsey, although a later connection with the northern GWR 'mainline' to the
Severn TunnelThe Severn Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn....
and
South WalesThe South Wales Main Line , originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain...
was made at Little Somerford. Just short of its terminus, the line ran through a short tunnel: the only tunnel on the line between Malmesbury and
PaddingtonPaddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
. The station closed to passengers in 1951 (the last day was 8 September), and freight in 1962. The tracks were used for a period to test new diesel locomotives built by Swindon railway works, but lifted in the 1970s, and the site of the station is now an industrial estate. The nearest stations today, all served by
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
, are: - on the line to Bristol - on the line to - on the line to London Paddington
Buses from three local companies serve the town,
Andybus run services to the east and Swindon,
Andybus also run services west to Yate and north-east to Cirencester,
Cotswold Green run services to the north-west, Tetbury and Stroud, while
Ad-Rains &
Andybus run services south to Chippenham. All other national bus connections are served from bus stations in Chippenham, Cirencester, Stroud and Swindon.
Education
Malmesbury has two primary schools,
Malmesbury Church of England Primary SchoolMalmesbury Church of England School and Music Academy is one of two schools in the town serving the various rural communities, villages and towns surrounding Malmesbury, Wiltshire in south west England. It is affiliated to the Diocese of Bristol. In 2010 it had an annual intake of around 400...
and St. Joseph's Catholic School. The secondary school is
Malmesbury SchoolMalmesbury School, is a co-educational 11-18 comprehensive school in the Wiltshire town of Malmesbury, serving a large and predominantly rural catchment area. It has 1250 students on roll, including 225 in the 6th Form.- History :...
.
Notable people
For a full list, see: :Category:People from Malmesbury
- King Athelstan - First king of all England
- Eilmer of Malmesbury
Eilmer of Malmesbury was an 11th-century English Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings.- Life :...
- Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings
- Saint Aldhelm - Saxon
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
scholar, bishop, poet, musician and patron saint of Wessex and the abbey's first abbot
- Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
- father of modern English philosophy
- William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
— historian
- Hannah Twynnoy
Hannah Twynnoy is reputedly the first person on record to have been killed by a tiger in Britain.Hannah Twynnoy was an early 18th-century barmaid working in a pub in the centre of the English market town of Malmesbury in Wiltshire....
– barmaid. Reputedly the first person killed by a tiger in Britain.
External links