Swindon () is a large town in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the borough was 233,400, making it the largest settlement in the county.
[ Located in ]South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
, Swindon lies on the M4 corridor
The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...
, 71 miles to the west of London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and 36 miles to the east of Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. The Cotswolds
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
lie just to the town's north and the North Wessex Downs
The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better kno ...
to its south.
Recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as ''Suindune'', the arrival of the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
in 1843 transformed it from a small market town of 2500 into a thriving railway hub that would become one of the largest railway engineering complexes in the world at its peak. This brought with it pioneering amenities such as the UK's first lending library and a 'cradle-to-grave' healthcare centre that was later used as a blueprint for the NHS. Swindon's railway heritage can be primarily seen today with the grade II listed Railway Village and STEAM Museum
A museum ( ) is an institution that displays and Preservation (library and archive), preserves objects of significance. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects in public display, and some have private collections that are used by Resear ...
. The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet is housed in the renovated former works and the Brunel Shopping Centre is one of several places in Swindon that bears the name of the famous engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
generally acknowledged with bringing the railways to the town.
Despite the subsequent decline and closure of its railway works, Swindon was one of the fastest growing towns in Europe post-war as its economy diversified, attracting large international companies, who made use of its burgeoning population and strategic transport links. Today, Swindon contains the head offices of organisations such as Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, Nationwide, the UK Space Agency
The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) is an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the United Kingdom's civil space programme. It was established on 1 April 2010 to replace the British National Space Centre ...
, English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
, National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, WHSmith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...
and Zurich Insurance Group
Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. As of 2021, the group is the world's 112th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011 it ran ...
. The Swindon Collection of Modern British Art consists of roughly 900 pieces, with the town also housing the Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
's Book Storage Facility, the Historic England Archive
The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway.
It is a public archive of architectural and arch ...
, and the Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
's National Collections. Until 2021, Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
's UK headquarters were in the town, with the factory producing up to 160,000 vehicles a year.
Major venues in the town include the Wyvern Theatre
The Wyvern Theatre in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, opened in 1971.
It is managed on behalf of Swindon Borough Council by Wyvern Theatre Ltd, a subsidiary of HQ Theatres Ltd. The auditorium has 635 seats, all designed to be within 70 feet ...
and currently closed Oasis Leisure Centre
The Oasis Leisure Centre (commonly called Swindon Oasis) was an entertainment and sports complex just outside the town centre of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, with facilities including a lagoon swimming pool, gym, bar, and concert hall. It was in ...
(claimed by some to be the inspiration for the name of the Manchester band). Lydiard Park
Lydiard Park is a country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its former name, about west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway.
The park, which is included on the Historic England Register of Historic Par ...
has hosted festival such as BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
, while the Swindon Mela, an all-day celebration of South Indian arts and culture, attracts up to 10,000 visitors a year. The ancient Ridgeway, known as Britain's oldest road, runs a few miles to Swindon's south, with Avebury
Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...
, the largest megalithic stone circle
A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...
in the world, and Uffington White Horse
The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric hill figure, long, formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of White Horse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington (in the cerem ...
, Britains oldest white horse figure, also nearby.
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
, the county's only professional football club, have played in the Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and won a major trophy, securing a famous giant-killing victory over Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in the 1969 League Cup final. They currently play in League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
at the 15,000-seat County Ground in the town centre. Other sports in the town include Swindon Wildcats
The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They play in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 1600-capacity Link Centre ...
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
and five-time British speedway champions the Swindon Robins
The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times l ...
.
History
Early history
The Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
settlement of Swindon sat in a defensible position atop a limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
hill. It is referred to in the 1086 Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as Suindune, believed to be derived from the Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
words "swine" and "dun" meaning "pig hill" or possibly Sweyn's hill, Sweyn being a Scandinavian name akin to Sven and English swain, meaning a young man.
Swindon is recorded in the Domesday Book as a manor in the hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of Blagrove, Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. It was one of the larger manors, recorded as having 27 households and a rent value of £10 14s, which was divided among five landlords. Before the Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...
the Swindon estate was owned by an Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...
called Leofgeat. After the Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
, Swindon was split into five holdings: the largest was held between Miles Crispin
Miles Crispin (died 1107), also known as Miles or Milo of Wallingford, was a wealthy Norman landowner, particularly associated with Wallingford Castle in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). The Domesday Book records Miles as a major landowner with holding ...
and Odin the Chamberlain, and the second by Wadard
Wadard was an 11th century Norman nobleman who is mentioned in Domesday Book, and is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.
Wadard was a noble who travelled to England in 1066 with Duke William of Normandy. He is depicted and named in the Bayeux Tape ...
, a knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in the service of Odo of Bayeux
Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England.
Early life
Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...
, brother
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
of the king. The manors of Westlecot, Walcot, Rodbourne, Moredon and Stratton are also listed; all are now part of Swindon.
The Goddard family
The Goddard family were a prominent landed family chiefly living in the northern region of the English counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire and the western part of Berkshire, between the Tudor period and the early 20th century.
The Goddard family ...
were lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
from the 16th century for many generations, living at the manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
, sometimes known as The Lawn.
Swindon was a small market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
, mainly for barter trade
In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distingu ...
, until roughly 1848. This original market area is on top of the hill in central Swindon, now known as Old Town.[John Chandler, Swindon Decoded, The Hobnob Press 2005, .]
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
was responsible for an acceleration of Swindon's growth. Construction of the Wilts and Berks Canal
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a b ...
in 1810 and the North Wilts Canal
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
in 1819 brought trade to the area, and Swindon's population started to grow.
Railway town
Between 1841 and 1842, Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
's Swindon Works
Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986.
History
In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...
was built for the repair and maintenance of locomotives on the Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(GWR). The GWR built a small railway village to house some of its workers. The Steam Railway Museum and English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
, including the English Heritage Archive
The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway.
It is a public archive of architectural and arch ...
, now occupy part of the old works. In the village were the GWR Medical Fund Clinic at Park House and its hospital, both on Faringdon Road, and the 1892 health centre in Milton Road, which housed clinics, a pharmacy, laundries, baths, Turkish bath
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...
s and swimming pools, was almost opposite.
From 1871, GWR workers had a small amount deducted from their weekly pay and put into a healthcare fund; GWR doctors could prescribe them or their family members medicines or send them for medical treatment. In 1878 the fund began providing artificial limbs made by craftsmen from the carriage and wagon works, and nine years later opened its first dental surgery. In his first few months in post, the dentist extracted more than 2,000 teeth. From the opening in 1892 of the health centre, a doctor could also prescribe a haircut or even a bath. The cradle-to-grave extent of this service was later used as a blueprint for the NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
.
The Mechanics' Institute, formed in 1844, moved into a building that looked rather like a church and included a covered market, on 1 May 1855. The New Swindon Improvement Company, a co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
, raised the funds for this programme of self-improvement and paid the GWR £40 a year for its new home on a site at the heart of the railway village. It was a groundbreaking organisation that transformed the railway's workforce into some of the country's best-educated manual workers.
The Mechanics' Institute had the UK's first lending library
A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...
, and a range of improving lectures, access to a theatre and various other activities, such as ambulance classes and xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...
lessons. A former institute secretary formed the New Swindon Co-operative Society in 1853 which, after a schism in the society's membership, spawned the New Swindon Industrial Society, which ran a retail business from a stall in the market at the institute. The institute also nurtured pioneering trades unionists and encouraged local democracy.
When tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
hit the new town, the Mechanics' Institute persuaded the industrial pioneers of North Wiltshire to agree that the railway's former employees should continue to receive medical attention from the doctors of the GWR Medical Society Fund, which the institute had played a role in establishing and funding.
Swindon's 'other' railway, the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...
, merged with the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway
The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...
to form the Midland & South Western Junction Railway, which set out to join the London & South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
with the Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
at Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
. The Swindon, Marlborough & Andover had planned to tunnel under the hill on which Swindon's Old Town stands but the money ran out and the railway ran into Swindon Town railway station
Swindon Town railway station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway at Swindon in Wiltshire. The station was sited in the Old Town area about one-and-a-half miles from the Great Western Railway's Swindon railway station, Swindon ...
, off Devizes Road in the Old Town, skirting the new town to the west, intersecting with the GWR at Rushey Platt and heading north for Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, Cheltenham and the LMS LMS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Labeled magnitude scale, a scaling technique
* Learning management system, education software
* Least mean squares filter, producing least mean square error
* Leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer
* Lenz ...
, whose 'Midland Red' livery the M&SWJR adopted.
During the second half of the 19th century, Swindon New Town grew around the main line between London and Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. In 1900, the original market town, Old Swindon, merged with its new neighbour at the bottom of the hill to become a single town.
On 1 July 1923, the GWR took over the largely single-track M&SWJR and the line northwards from Swindon Town was diverted to Swindon Junction station, leaving the Town station with only the line south to Andover and Salisbury. The last passenger trains on what had been the SM&A ran on 10 September 1961, 80 years after the railway's first stretch opened.
During the first half of the 20th century, the railway works was the town's largest employer and one of the biggest in the country, employing more than 14,500 workers. Alfred Williams (1877–1930) wrote about his life as a hammerman at the works.
The works' decline started in 1960, when it rolled out ''Evening Star'', the last steam engine to be built in the UK. The works lost its locomotive building role and took on rolling stock maintenance for British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
. In the late 1970s, much of the works closed and the rest followed in 1986.
The community centre in the railway village was originally the barrack accommodation for railway employees of the GWR. The building became the Railway Museum in the 1960s, until the opening of the STEAM Museum in the 2000s.
Modern period
The Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
saw an influx of new industries as part of the war effort; Vickers-Armstrong
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...
making aircraft at Stratton, and Plessey
The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...
at Cheney Manor producing electrical components. By 1960, Plessey had become Swindon's biggest employer, with a predominantly female workforce.
David Murray John
The history of local government in Swindon has its origins in the Middle Ages. After a long period of very little change, there followed a new era, beginning in the 19th century, of constant redevelopment and re-adjustment.
Parliamentary repres ...
, Swindon's town clerk from 1938 to 1974, is seen as a pioneering figure in Swindon's post-war regeneration: his last act before retirement was to sign the contract for Swindon's tallest building, which is now named after him. Murray John's successor was David Maxwell Kent, appointed by the Swindon/Highworth Joint Committee in 1973: he had worked closely with Murray John and continued similar policies for a further twenty years. The Greater London Council
The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
withdrew from the Town Development Agreement and the local council continued the development on its own.
There was the problem of the Western Development and of Lydiard Park
Lydiard Park is a country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its former name, about west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway.
The park, which is included on the Historic England Register of Historic Par ...
being in the new North Wiltshire
North Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Calne, Chippenham, and Malmesbury along with Calne and Chippenham Rural District, Cricklade and Wootton Bas ...
district, but this was resolved by a boundary change to take in part of North Wiltshire. Another factor limiting local decision-taking was the continuing role of Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county.
As a result of the 2009 restructur ...
in the administration of Swindon. Together with like-minded councils, a campaign was launched to bring an updated form of county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
status to Swindon. This was successful in 1997 with the formation of Swindon Borough Council
Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in Wiltshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. As such, it is administratively separate fro ...
, covering the areas of the former Thamesdown and the former Highworth Rural District Council.
In February 2008, ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' named Swindon as one of "The 20 best places to buy a property in Britain". Only Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
had a lower ratio of house prices to household income in 2007, with the average household income in Swindon among the highest in the country.
In October 2008, Swindon Council made a controversial move to ban fixed point speed cameras
A traffic enforcement camera (also red light camera, speed camera, road safety camera, road rule camera, photo radar, photo enforcement, Gatso, safety camera, bus lane camera, flash for cash, Safe-T-Cam, No contact apprehension camera depending ...
. The move was branded as reckless by some, but by November 2008 Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
, and Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
councils were also considering the move.
In 2001, construction began on Priory Vale
Priory Vale is a community in the north of the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, which comprises the urban villages of Redhouse, Oakhurst and Haydon End. Although not strictly part of Priory Vale, the nearby village of Taw Hill completes ...
, the third and final instalment in Swindon's 'Northern Expansion' project, which began with Abbey Meads and continued at St Andrew's Ridge. In 2002, the New Swindon Company was formed with the remit of regenerating the town centre, to improve Swindon's regional status. The main areas targeted were Union Square, The Promenade, The Hub, Swindon Central, North Star Village, The Campus, and the Public Realm.
In August 2019, a secondary school in the town was at the centre of a ' county lines' drug supply investigation by Wiltshire Police, with 40 pupils suspected of being involved in the supply of cannabis and cocaine, and girls as young as 14 being coerced into sexual activity in exchange for drugs.
Governance
The local council was created in 1974 as the Borough of Thamesdown, out of the areas of Swindon Borough and Highworth Rural District. It was not initially called Swindon, because the borough covers a larger area than the town; it was renamed as the Borough of Swindon
The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England, centred on the urban area and town of Swindon and forming part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire.
History
In 1974 the Thamesdown district of Wiltshire was cre ...
in 1997. The borough became a unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
on 1 April 1997, following a review by the Local Government Commission for England. The town is therefore no longer under the auspices of Wiltshire Council.
The executive comprises a leader and a cabinet, currently made up from the Conservative Group. The council as of the 2016 election has a majority of Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
councillors.
Swindon is represented in the national parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
by two MPs. Robert Buckland
Sir Robert James Buckland (born 22 September 1968) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Wales from July to October 2022. He previously served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2019 to 2021. A me ...
(Conservative) was elected for the South Swindon
South Swindon is a constituency in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Sir Robert Buckland, a Conservative, who previously served as Justice Secretary and Welsh Secretary ...
seat in May 2010 with a 5.5% swing from Labour and Justin Tomlinson
Justin Paul Tomlinson (born 5 November 1976) is a British Conservative Party politician and former marketing executive who served as Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health from 2019 to 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament ( ...
, also Conservative, represents North Swindon
North Swindon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Justin Tomlinson, a Conservative.
History
North Swindon was created in 1997 and has been a bellwether since then. However, during the 2010s, t ...
after a 10.1% swing at the same election. Both retained their seats at the 2015 and 2017 elections. Prior to 1997 there was a single seat for Swindon, although much of what is now in Swindon was then part of the Devizes seat.
Geography
Swindon is a town in northeast Wiltshire, west-northwest of Reading and the same distance east-northeast of Bristol 'as the crow flies'. The town is also southwest of Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, south-southeast of Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, west of London and east of Cardiff. Swindon town centre is also equidistant from the county boundaries of Berkshire and Gloucestershire, both being away. The border with Oxfordshire is slightly closer, being around away.
Swindon is within a landlocked county and is a considerable distance from any coastline. The nearest section of coast on the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
is near Christchurch, due south. Meanwhile, the eastern limit of the Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
, just north of Weston-super-mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...
, lies to the west.
The landscape is dominated by the chalk hills of the Wiltshire Downs to the south and east. The Old Town stands on a hill of Purbeck and Portland stone; this was quarried from Roman times until the 1950s. The area that was known as New Swindon is made up of mostly Kimmeridge clay with outcrops of Corrallian clay in the areas of Penhill and Pinehurst. Oxford clay makes up the rest of the borough. The River Ray
The River Ray is a tributary of the River Cherwell in south east England. It rises at Quainton Hill, Buckinghamshire and flows west through flat countryside for around to meet the Cherwell at Islip in Oxfordshire.
The Ray's catchment area i ...
rises at Wroughton and forms much of the borough's western boundary, joining the Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
which defines the northern boundary, and the source of which is located in nearby Kemble, Gloucestershire
Kemble is a village in the civil parish of Kemble and Ewen, in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. Historically part of Wiltshire, it lies from Cirencester and is the settlement closest to Thames Head, the source of the River T ...
. The River Cole and its tributaries flow northeastward from the town and form the northeastern boundary.
* Nearby towns: Calne
Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs h ...
, Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...
, Royal Wootton Bassett
Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies to the west of the major ...
, Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, Cricklade
Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227.
History
Cricklade ...
, Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...
, Highworth
Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
, Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
, Witney
Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...
and Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...
* Nearby villages: Badbury, Blunsdon
Blunsdon is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England, about north of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its southern boundary. Its main settlement is the village of Broad Blunsdon, with Lower Blunsdon nearby; th ...
, Broad Hinton
Broad Hinton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Swindon. The parish includes the hamlets of Uffcott and The Weir.
Disambiguation
This village of Broad Hinton near Swindon should not be confused with Broad ...
, Chiseldon
Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It takes its name from the Old English cisel dene, or gravel valley, being noted in the Domesday Book as ''Chiseldene''.
The village lies on the edge of the ...
, Hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
, Liddington
Liddington is a village and civil parish near Swindon in Wiltshire, England. The settlement lies southeast of Swindon town, close to junction 15 of the M4 motorway, which is approximately away via the B4192.
History
The parish has been an a ...
, Lydiard Millicent
Lydiard Millicent is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about west of the centre of Swindon. The parish contains the hamlets of Lydiard Green, Lydiard Plain, Greatfield and Green Hill; in the northeast the parish extends to Com ...
, Lyneham, Minety
Minety is a village in north Wiltshire, England, between Malmesbury – to the west – and Swindon. It takes its name from the water mint plant found growing in ditches around the village, and has previously been known as Myntey. It has a prima ...
, Purton
Purton is a large village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about northwest of the centre of Swindon. The parish includes the village of Purton Stoke and the hamlets of Bentham, Hayes Knoll, Purton Common, Restrop, The Fox and Widham. Th ...
, South Marston
South Marston is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about north-east of Swindon town centre.
History
The earliest documentary evidence for continuous settlement dates from the 13th centur ...
, Wanborough, Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 an ...
* Nearby places of interest: Avebury
Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...
, Barbury Castle
Barbury Castle is a scheduled hillfort in Wiltshire, England. It is one of several such forts found along the ancient Ridgeway route. The site, which lies within the Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has been managed as a count ...
, Crofton Pumping Station
Crofton Pumping Station, near the village of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England, supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water.
The steam-powered pumping station is preserved and operates on selected weekends. It contains ...
, Lydiard Country Park
Lydiard Park is a country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its former name, about west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway.
The park, which is included on the Historic England Register of Historic ...
, Silbury Hill
Silbury Hill is a prehistoric artificial chalk mound near Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. It is part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites UNESCO World Heritage Site. At high, it is the tallest prehistoric man-made mound ...
, Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
, Uffington White Horse
The Uffington White Horse is a prehistoric hill figure, long, formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of White Horse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington (in the cerem ...
* Sites of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
in Swindon include Coate Water
Coate Water () is a country park situated to the southeast of central Swindon, England, near junction 15 of the M4. It takes its name from its main feature, a reservoir originally built to provide water for the Wilts & Berks Canal. Now nam ...
, Great Quarry, Haydon Meadow
Haydon Meadow () known locally as Clifford Meadow is a 6.39 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1999.
The site lies within the Parish of Haydon Wick and is home to Anacamptis morio a rare protected spe ...
, Okus Quarry
Okus Quarry () is a 2,500 square metre geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Old Town, Swindon, Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocke ...
and Old Town Railway Cutting
Climate
Swindon has an oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(''Cfb'' in the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
), like the vast majority of the British Isles, with cool winters and warm summers. The nearest official weather station is RAF Lyneham
Royal Air Force Lyneham otherwise known as RAF Lyneham was a Royal Air Force station located northeast of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and southwest of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transpor ...
, about west southwest of Swindon town centre. The weather station's elevation is in a rural setting, compared to the typical encountered around Swindon town centre, so is likely marginally cooler throughout the year.
The absolute maximum is , recorded during August 1990. In an average year the warmest day should reach and 10.3 days should register a temperature of or above.
The absolute minimum is , recorded in January 1982, and in an average year 45.2 nights of air frost can be expected.
Sunshine, at 1,565 hours a year, is typical for inland parts of Southern England, although significantly higher than most areas further north.
Annual rainfall averages slightly under per year, with 123 days reporting over of rain.
Demographics
The 2011 census recorded a population of 209,156 people in the Swindon unitary authority area (including the town's urban area, Highworth
Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
, and other nearby parishes), with a 50/50 balance of males and females. By mid-2019, the estimated population of the unitary authority area was 222,193.
As of 2011, 57.5% of Swindonians identify themselves as Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, a reduction from 70% in 2001. This is followed by those of no religion (31%), Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
(1.7%), Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
(0.6%), Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
(1.2%), other (0.5%) and Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
(0.1%).
In 2015, Public Health England
Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...
found that 70.4% of the population was either overweight or obese with a BMI greater than 25.
In 2011, the area of the town was and there were .
In 2011, 16.7% of the population of Swindon were non-White British compared with 15.4% in the surrounding borough. There was also little difference between the percentages of Black and Asian residents. Swindon is one of the most ethnically diverse towns in South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
: 4.6% of the population registered themselves as 'Other White' and 2.5% of the population was either mixed race or of another ethnicity.
There are several definitions of the town for statistical purposes. The smallest extent is the former unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...
, now covered by the parishes of West Swindon, Central Swindon North and South, and Nythe, Eldene and Liden
Nythe, Eldene and Liden is a civil parish in the eastern suburbs of the town of Swindon, England. In addition to the residential areas of Nythe (in the north), Eldene and Liden (southwest and southeast), the parish has the Dorcan industrial area ...
; thus it omits suburbs to the east and north, namely the parishes of Covingham
Covingham is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, now part of the built-up area of the Borough of Swindon. It was developed in the 1960s as part of Swindon's eastward expansion towards the A419. St Paul's Church is the main parish c ...
, Stratton St Margaret
Stratton St Margaret is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The parish covers north-eastern suburbs of Swindon including Stratton St Margaret itself along with Upper Stratton, Lower Stratton and Kingsdown. Since May 20 ...
and Haydon Wick
The civil parish of Haydon Wick is a northern suburb of the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, in England. It had a population of 20,960 in the 2011 census.
The parish includes the former hamlet of Haydon and the suburbs of Greenmeadow and Rodbourne ...
. At the 2011 census, the population of the unparished area was 122,642. The 2011 census also recognised a Built Up Area Subdivision with a population of 182,441.
At the 2021 census, the only area covering most of the town was the Built Up Area, which had a population of 183,638. Excluded from this were the parts of Wichelstowe lying in Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 an ...
parish, the whole of Stratton St Margaret
Stratton St Margaret is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The parish covers north-eastern suburbs of Swindon including Stratton St Margaret itself along with Upper Stratton, Lower Stratton and Kingsdown. Since May 20 ...
parish, and northern parts of St Andrews
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
parish.
St Helena community
By 2018, Swindon had a concentration of people originating from Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
.
Polish community
After the end of World War II, Polish refugees were temporarily housed in barracks at RAF Fairford
Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...
, about to the north. Around 1950, some settled in Scotland and others in Swindon rather than stay in the barracks or hostels they were offered.[''Polish club closes doors for last time'' – Swindon Advertiser, 1 April 2007](_blank)
. Retrieved on 24 July 2007
The 2001 UK Census found that most of the Polish-born people had stayed or returned after serving with British forces during World War II. Swindon and Nottingham were parts of this settlement. Data from that census showed that 566 Swindonians were Polish-born. Notes to those data read: "The Polish Resettlement Act of 1947, which was designed to provide help and support to people who wished to settle here, covered about 190,000 people ... at the time Britain did not recognise many of the professional ualificationsgained overseas ... utmany did find work after the war; some went down the mines, some worked on the land or in steelworks. Housing was more of a problem and many Poles were forced to live in barracks previously used for POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
s ... The first generation took pains to ensure that their children grew up with a strong sense of Polish identity".
NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
planners devising services for senior citizens estimated in 1994 that 5% of Swindon's population were not 'ethnically British', and most of those were culturally Polish.
The town's Polish ex-servicemen's club, which had run a football team for 45 years, closed in 2012. Barman Jerzy Trojan blamed the decline of both club and team on the children and grandchildren of the original refugees losing their Polish identity.
Places of worship
There are numerous places of worship in Swindon, some of which are listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s. Until 1845, the only church in Swindon was the Holy Rood Church, a Grade II listed building.[Swindon: Churches]
in ''A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 9'' from ''British History Online
''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universi ...
'' (London: Victoria County History, 1970), 144–159. That year, St Mark's Church St. Mark's Church, or variations such as St. Mark Church or with Saint spelled out, may mean:
Australia
* St Mark's Anglican Church, Warwick, Queensland
* St Mark's Church, Darling Point, New South Wales
* Old St Mark's Anglican Church, Slacks ...
was built. In 1851, Christ Church was built. Later in the year, the first Roman Catholic chapel was opened in the town and was also named Holy Rood
Holyrood may refer to:
Religion
*Holyrood (cross), a Christian relic alleged to be part of the True Cross on which Jesus died
*Feast of the Cross, or Holy Rood day, in the Christian liturgical calendar
Places United Kingdom
* Holyrood, Edinburgh ...
. In 1866, Cambria Baptist Chapel was built. In the 1880s, Bath Road Methodist Chapel was built. In 1885, St Barnabas Church was built. In 1907, St Augustine's Church in Even Swindon
Rodbourne is a suburb of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, north of the town centre and about northwest of Swindon railway station. It includes an area formerly called Even Swindon.
Northern area
Land to the north of the Wilts and Berks Canal a ...
was built. Various churches and places of worship were built in the town by other denominations and faiths. Pattern Church was launched on Christmas 2018, on the site of the former Pattern Store.
Economy
Major employers in the town include BMW/Mini
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
(formerly Pressed Steel Fisher) in Stratton, Dolby Labs
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...
, international engineering consultancy firm Halcrow, and retailer W H Smith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...
's distribution centre and headquarters. Electronics company Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, insurance and financial services companies such as Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution, the seventh largest cooperative financial institution and the largest building society in the world with over 16 million members. Its headquarters are in Swindon, England. ...
and Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. As of 2021, the group is the world's 112th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011 it ran ...
, the energy companies RWE Generation UK plc and Npower (a company of the Innogy
Innogy SE was an energy company based in Essen, Germany. It is now merged and integrated into German energy company E.ON.
History
The company was created on 1 April 2016, by splitting the renewable, network and retail businesses of RWE into a ...
group), the fuel card and fleet management company Arval, pharmaceutical companies such as Canada's Patheon
Patheon is a service brand within Thermo Fisher Scientific’s brand portfolio. Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services offered under the Patheon brand include small molecule API, biologics, viral vectors, cGMP plasmids ...
and the United States-based Catalent Pharma Solutions and French medical supplies manufacturer Vygon (UK) have their UK divisions headquartered in the town. Swindon also has the head office of the National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
and the head office of the UK Space Agency
The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) is an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the United Kingdom's civil space programme. It was established on 1 April 2010 to replace the British National Space Centre ...
. Other employers include all of the national Research Councils
Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. Different methods can be used to disburse funding, but the term often connotes funding obtained thr ...
, the British Computer Society
Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, known as the British Computer Society until 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in infor ...
, TE Connectivity
TE Connectivity is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, o ...
and Lok'nStore
Lok'nStore Group PLC is a provider of self storage
Self storage (a shorthand for "self-service storage," and also known as "device storage") is an industry that rents storage space (such as rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor space), ...
.
From 1985 to 2021, Japanese car manufacturer Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
had its sole UK plant at South Marston
South Marston is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about north-east of Swindon town centre.
History
The earliest documentary evidence for continuous settlement dates from the 13th centur ...
, just outside Swindon. In March 2021, it was announced that logistics firm Panattoni
Panattoni Development Company is an international real estate developer specializing in industrial real estate and warehouses. It has 35 Full Service Development offices in across the United States, Europe and Canada. The company has delivered ove ...
would move to the former Honda site.
Swindon was for a time a centre of excellence for 3G and 4G mobile telecommunications research and development for Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
, Alcatel Alcatel may refer to:
* Alcatel, a former French telecommunications equipment company, which became Alcatel-Lucent and is now part of Nokia
* Alcatel Mobile, a brand of mobile phones, tablets and wearables, formerly a joint venture between Alcatel ...
, Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
, Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Networks (formerly Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN)) is a multinational data networking and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia Corp ...
and Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
.
Transport
Located at the junction of two Roman roads, the town has developed into a transport hub over the centuries. It is on the historical GWR and on canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
s. It also has two junctions (15 and 16) on the M4 motorway
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...
.
Swindon railway station
Swindon railway station is on the Great Western Main Line in South West England, serving the town of Swindon, Wiltshire. It is down the line from the zero point at and is situated between and on the main line. It is managed by Great West ...
opened in 1842 as Swindon Junction, and until 1895 every train stopped for at least 10 minutes to change locomotives. As a result, the station hosted the first recorded railway refreshment rooms.
Swindon bus operators are Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown) and Stagecoach. The former Stagecoach Bus Depot on Eastcott Road has been approved for development as a housing site.
Swindon is one of the locations for an innovative scheme called Car share. It was set up as a joint venture between Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county.
As a result of the 2009 restructur ...
and a private organisation and now has over 300,000 members registered. It is a car pool
Carpooling (also car-sharing, ride-sharing and lift-sharing) is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves.
By having more people usi ...
or ride-sharing rather than a car share
Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
scheme, seeking to link people willing to share transport.
The town contains a large roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
called Magic Roundabout. There are five mini-roundabouts within this roundabout and at its centre is a contra-rotational hub. It is the junction of five roads: (clockwise from South) Drove Road, Fleming Way, County Road, Shrivenham Road and Queens Drive. It is built on the site of Swindon wharf on the abandoned Wilts & Berks Canal
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. ...
, near the County Ground. The official name used to be County Islands, although it was colloquially known as the Magic Roundabout and the official name was changed to match its nickname.
On 8 October 2019, GWR posted a modern speed record when an Intercity Express Train took just 44 minutes to travel from Swindon to London Paddington.
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
Route 45 runs through the town.
Tourism and recreation
Events
Annual events in Swindon include:
* The Swindon Festival of Literature, held over two weeks in May.
* The Swindon Mela, an all-day celebration of South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
n arts and culture in the Town Gardens, which attracts up to 10,000 visitors each year.[Swindon Mela](_blank)
.
* The Children's Fete, a town-wide event in celebration of Swindon's children, community, culture, and heritage, is usually held the first Saturday in July in the GWR Park on Faringdon Road, with 8,000 attending in 2016.
* The Summer Breeze Festival has been held annually in the town since 2007 with headliners including Toploader
Toploader are an English rock band from Eastbourne, East Sussex, formed in 1997, with over two million album sales and several top 20 hits both home and abroad. Their debut album, ''Onka's Big Moka'', sold over one million units and peaked in ...
and KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''.
Th ...
. The family-friendly music event is run by volunteers on a non-profit basis with any funds raised going to charity.
* An annual Gay Pride Parade
A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
called Swindon And Wiltshire Pride is held in the town. The parade has been held in the Town Gardens since 2007. Swedish DJ Basshunter
Jonas Erik Altberg (; born 22 December 1984), known professionally as Basshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ.
Basshunter has recorded five studio albums: ''The Bassmachine'' (2004), ''LOL (Basshunter album), LOL'' (2 ...
performed in the 2012 celebrations, with around 8,000 people attending.
* The Swindon Beer Festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
* Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...
, Organised by the local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is the ...
), is held at the STEAM museum in October each year. There is also an Old Town Beer Festival held in Christ Church.
*Swindon Open Studios, held over two weekends every September local artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
s open their studios to visitors or take part in group exhibitions around the town.
*The Swindon Half Marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...
is held in September.
Arts venues
* Swindon's most recent addition is the Shoebox Theatre, a fringe theatre and producing house with a focus on contemporary performance and new work.
* Live music venues such as The High Street Club, The Kings Arms, The Castle, The Beehive, Level III, and The Victoria attract local acts as well as touring national acts. Collectively they host an annual music festival, the Swindon Shuffle. The Oasis Leisure Centre
The Oasis Leisure Centre (commonly called Swindon Oasis) was an entertainment and sports complex just outside the town centre of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, with facilities including a lagoon swimming pool, gym, bar, and concert hall. It was in ...
and the County Ground are used for some major events. MECA is a 2,000-capacity music venue in the former Mecca bingo hall.
* The Arts Centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...
is a theatre in Old Town which seats 200 and has music, professional and amateur theatre, comedians, films, children's events, and one-man shows.
* The Wyvern Theatre
The Wyvern Theatre in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, opened in 1971.
It is managed on behalf of Swindon Borough Council by Wyvern Theatre Ltd, a subsidiary of HQ Theatres Ltd. The auditorium has 635 seats, all designed to be within 70 feet ...
has film, comedy, and music.
* In 2012 '' Swindon: The Opera'' was performed at the STEAM Museum
A museum ( ) is an institution that displays and Preservation (library and archive), preserves objects of significance. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects in public display, and some have private collections that are used by Resear ...
in Swindon by the Janice Thompson Performance Trust, after a successful 2011 Jubilee People's Millions Lottery bid. It charted Swindon's history since 1952 until the present day. Over twenty songs were written by Matt Fox, with music by the composer Betty Roe
Betty Roe (born 30 July 1930) is an English composer, singer, vocal coach, and conductor.
Biography
Betty Roe was born in North Kensington, London, England. Her father was a fishmonger at the Shepherd's Bush Market, and her mother was a bookkee ...
.
Shopping / plazas
*Swindon Designer Outlet
Swindon Designer Outlet, a shopping complex built within the disused Swindon railway engine works.
Steam locomotive 4930 ''Hagley Hall'' in the eating area of the Outlet
Swindon Designer Outlet is a covered designer outlet in Swindon, England.
...
is an indoor shopping mall for reduced-price goods (mainly clothing), most of the buildings it uses were former railway works. The outlet is adjacent to the Steam Museum
A museum ( ) is an institution that displays and Preservation (library and archive), preserves objects of significance. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects in public display, and some have private collections that are used by Resear ...
and the National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
headquarters. It holds around 100 retailers and restaurants, and once held the record of biggest covered designer outlet centre in Europe. The outlet received a significant expansion in the mid-2010s, allowing it to hold more retailers and restaurants, as well as a visual upgrade.
*The Brunel Centre and The Parade are the two shopping complexes in the town centre, built along the line of the filled-in Wilts and Berks Canal
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a b ...
(where a canal milepost can still be seen). The Brunel Centre opened a food court called The Crossing in April 2018.
*Greenbridge Retail and Leisure Park ( Stratton St. Margaret), Orbital Shopping Park (Haydon Wick
The civil parish of Haydon Wick is a northern suburb of the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, in England. It had a population of 20,960 in the 2011 census.
The parish includes the former hamlet of Haydon and the suburbs of Greenmeadow and Rodbourne ...
), and the West Swindon Shopping Centre / Shaw Ridge Leisure Park are the three major out-of-town facilities. There is also the Bridgemead Retail Park and Mannington Retail Park both located in West Swindon, in close proximity to each other. Outside of these, there are various minor retail parks.
*Regent Circus opened in 2015 on the site of the former Swindon College building. It contains a Cineworld cinema and restaurants.
Former
* Swindon Tented Market, in the Town Centre close to the Brunel Centre, was built in 1994. It reopened in October 2009, having been closed for two years, but closed again in August 2017.
Green spaces
Public parks include Lydiard Country Park
Lydiard Park is a country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its former name, about west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway.
The park, which is included on the Historic England Register of Historic ...
, Shaw Forest Country Park, The Lawns
The Lawns is a former student accommodation complex for the University of Hull, located in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It comprised seven halls of residence (Ferens, Lambert, Nicholson, Morgan, Downs, Reckitt and Grant) and ...
, Stanton Park, Queens Park, GWR Park, Town Gardens, Pembroke Gardens and Coate Water
Coate Water () is a country park situated to the southeast of central Swindon, England, near junction 15 of the M4. It takes its name from its main feature, a reservoir originally built to provide water for the Wilts & Berks Canal. Now nam ...
. Fishing for the Moon is a smal urban sensory garden
A sensory garden is a self-contained garden area that allows visitors to enjoy a wide variety of sensory experiences. Sensory gardens are designed to provide opportunities to stimulate the senses, both individually and in combination, in ways that ...
created in 1990 by Thamesdown Borough Council and renovated by South Swindon Parish Council in 2021. its central feature is an artwork by Michael Farrell.
Media
Online
Swindon has many online media outlets with the largest being the Swindon Advertiser
The ''Swindon Advertiser'' is a daily tabloid newspaper, published in Swindon. The newspaper was founded in 1854, and had an audited average daily circulation at the end of 2017 of 8,828.
It claims to have been the United Kingdom, UK's first pr ...
. SwindonWeb was the first website dedicated to Swindon in 1997 followed by SwindonLink and The Swindonian with many other sites now available, including Total Swindon.
Print
Newspapers and magazines
Swindon has a daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
, the ''Swindon Advertiser
The ''Swindon Advertiser'' is a daily tabloid newspaper, published in Swindon. The newspaper was founded in 1854, and had an audited average daily circulation at the end of 2017 of 8,828.
It claims to have been the UK's first provincial 'penny ...
'', with daily circulation of about 4,000 with an estimated readership of 21,000. Other newspapers covering the area include Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
's daily ''Western Daily Press
The ''Western Daily Press'' is a regional newspaper covering parts of South West England, mainly Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset as well as the metropolitan areas of Bath and North East Somerset and the Bristol area. It is published Mon ...
'' and the ''Swindon Advertiser''s weekly, the ''Gazette and Herald
The ''Gazette and Herald'' is a local weekly paid-for newspaper, established in Wiltshire, England, in 1816 and published every Thursday. It serves the areas and communities of Devizes, Calne, Chippenham, Wootton Bassett, Swindon, Marlborough, M ...
''; the ''Wiltshire Ocelot'' (a free listings magazine), ''The Swindonian Monthly Magazine'' ''Swindon Star'', ''Hungry Monkeys'' (a comic), ''Stratton Outlook'', ''Frequency'' (an arts and cultural magazine), ''Great Swindon Magazine'', ''Swindon Business News'', ''Swindon Link'' and ''Highworth Link''.
Literature
Swindon is the setting for the Thursday Next
Thursday Next is the protagonist in a series of comic fantasy, alternate history mystery novels by the British author Jasper Fforde. She was first introduced in Fforde's first published novel, ''The Eyre Affair'', released on 19 July 2001 by Hod ...
series of novels by Jasper Fforde
Jasper Fforde (born 11 January 1961) is an English novelist, whose first novel, ''The Eyre Affair'', was published in 2001. He is known mainly for his ''Thursday Next'' novels, but has published two books in the loosely connected ''The Big Over ...
and ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' is a 2003 mystery novel by British writer Mark Haddon. Its title refers to an observation by the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (created by Arthur Conan Doyle) in the 1892 short story ...
'' by Mark Haddon.
Radio
The first commercial radio station launched in Swindon was Wiltshire Radio
Heart Wiltshire (formerly GWR FM Wiltshire) was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to north and west Wiltshire. The station was rebranded to Heart in March 2009 in line with Globa ...
in 1982, with BBC Wiltshire Sound
BBC Radio Wiltshire is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the English county of Wiltshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Prospect Pla ...
launched in 1989. Wiltshire Radio later changed to GWR FM GWR FM was a network of three radio stations in the south west of England broadcasting to Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire and surrounding areas. All three stations were rebranded and joined the Heart Network on 23 March 2009.
The stations in the network ...
, then to Heart Wiltshire
Heart Wiltshire (formerly GWR FM Wiltshire) was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to north and west Wiltshire. The station was rebranded to Heart in March 2009 in line with Globa ...
, and is now Heart West
Heart West is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the West and the South West of England from studios in Bristol.
The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four ...
, broadcasting from studios in Bristol. An alternative commercial radio station, Brunel FM
Sam FM Swindon was a commercial radio station based in Swindon, England, broadcasting on the 107.7 FM frequency.
The station was formed by The Local Radio Company, who wanted to create a local radio rival to GWR FM (now Heart). It started in ...
, was launched in 2006 and replaced in turn by Total Star Swindon
Sam FM Swindon was a commercial radio station based in Swindon, England, broadcasting on the 107.7 FM frequency.
The station was formed by The Local Radio Company, who wanted to create a local radio rival to GWR FM (now Heart). It started in ...
, More Radio
Sam FM Swindon was a commercial radio station based in Swindon, England, broadcasting on the 107.7 FM frequency.
The station was formed by The Local Radio Company, who wanted to create a local radio rival to GWR FM (now Heart). It started in ...
, Jack FM
Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs.
Format c ...
and Sam FM; the frequency is now used by Greatest Hits Radio Swindon
Greatest Hits Radio South West is a regional radio station serving the South West of England, as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network.
Coverage
The ten local stations broadcast to the areas of Bath, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Glouceste ...
. Another independent station called Swindon FM was also on the air between 2001 and 2006.
Since 2008, the town has had its own 24-hour community radio station, Swindon 105.5
Swindon 105.5 is a community radio, community non-for-profit radio station based in Swindon, England, launched in March 2008. The station manager is former BBC Wiltshire Sound, GWR FM and Swindon Viewpoint Presenter, Shirley Ludford. Aside from Sh ...
, which was given the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, also known as The Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service by Groups in the Community and The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award is an annual award given to groups in the voluntary sect ...
in 2014, the highest award which can be given to a voluntary group. In regards to the wider Wiltshire county, the public-sector station BBC Radio Wiltshire
BBC Radio Wiltshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the English county of Wiltshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Prospect Place in Swindon.
According to RAJAR, the station had a weekly aud ...
remains based in Swindon.
Television
The Swindon area is in the overlap between two transmission regions, the Thames Valley and the West of England. ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
regional news programmes come from ITV News Meridian
''ITV News Meridian'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Meridian.
Overview
The news service is produced and broadcast from ITV Meridian's studios in Whiteley, near Fareham with reporters also based at bureaux in ...
(with offices at Abingdon) and ITV West Country
ITV West Country is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the South West England franchise area on the ITV network. Previously, between 2009 and 2013, the area was a non-franchise region, branded with the same ...
(Bristol). On BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
the area is served by both South Today
''BBC South Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, West Sussex, much of Dorset and parts of Berkshire, Surrey and Wiltshire.
Since 2000, an opt-out of the main program ...
(from Southampton) and Points West (Bristol).
Between 1973 and 1982, the town had its own cable television channel called Swindon Viewpoint
Swindon Viewpoint was a local community cable TV channel based in, and serving Swindon. It has been through several incarnations, including its early experimental phase, its main phase in the 1970s and 1980s, its 1990s phase where it operated u ...
. This was a community television project run mainly by enthusiasts from studios in Victoria Hill, and later by Media Arts at the Town Hall Studios. It was followed by the more commercial Swindon's Local Channel, which included pay-per-view films. NTL (later Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...
) took over the channel's parent company, ComTel, and closed the station.
Education
The borough of Swindon has many primary schools, 12 secondary schools, and two purpose-built sixth-form colleges. Three secondary schools also have sixth forms. There is one independent school, Maranatha Christian School at Sevenhampton.
Secondary schools
The secondary schools in the Borough of Swindon are:
*Abbey Park School
Abbey Park School is a Mixed-sex education, mixed secondary school in North Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
The school was called Isambard School when it was established in 2007. The name and uniform changed in 2017. In 2018, Abbey Park School be ...
(ages 11–16)
*Commonweal School
The Commonweal School is a secondary school (with a sixth form) in the south-west of Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
History
The Commonweal School was opened in 1927, and most of the first pupils transferred from the College and Euclid Street se ...
(11–18)
*The Deanery CE Academy (11–15)
*The Dorcan Academy
The Dorcan Academy is a mixed secondary school in Swindon, Wiltshire
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of S ...
(11–16)
*Great Western Academy (11–18)
*Highworth Warneford School
Highworth Warneford School is a mixed academy status secondary school in the small town of Highworth, north of Swindon, Wiltshire, England for pupils aged 11 to 16. Since July 2011, the school has been an academy.
History
The modern Highwo ...
(11–16)
*Kingsdown School
Kingsdown School is a mixed secondary school with academy status in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. In its February 2020 Ofsted report, it was rated 'Good'.
In August 2019 the school was at the centre of a county lines investigation by Wilt ...
(11–16)
*Lawn Manor Academy
Lawn Manor Academy is a secondary school with academy status in Walcot, Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Its site is next to The Lawn, a public park which was the grounds of a manor house, home of the Goddard family
The Goddard family were a pro ...
(11–16)
*Lydiard Park Academy
Lydiard Park Academy, formerly known as Greendown Community School, is a mixed sex Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school for students aged between 11 and 18 years in the Grange Park area of Swindon, England. , there were 1271 stud ...
(11–18)
*Nova Hreod Academy
Nova Hreod Academy (formerly Hreod Burna Senior High School, Hreod Parkway School and Nova Hreod College) is a mixed secondary school with academy status, located in Swindon, Wiltshire for students aged 11 to 16.
History
''Hreod'' is the An ...
(11–16)
* The Ridgeway School and Sixth Form College (11–18)
*St Joseph's Catholic College
St. Joseph's Catholic College (formerly St Joseph's Comprehensive School) is a secondary school in Swindon, England. The school opened in 1958 and was the town's first Catholic school, offering education to students aged 11 to 16. Today it re ...
(11–16)
*Swindon Academy
Swindon Academy is a non-selective co-educational school within the English academy programme, in the Pinehurst area of Swindon, north of the town centre. It caters for children aged 3 to 19 and has 1,769 pupils on roll .
History
The history of ...
(3–18)
*UTC Swindon
UTC Swindon is a University Technical College (UTC) in Swindon, England that opened in September 2014 for students of ages 14–19. The college specialises in engineering and is sponsored by Oxford Brookes University and Johnson Matthey Fuel C ...
(14–18)
Bradon Forest School
Bradon Forest School is a mixed secondary school in Purton (near Swindon) in Wiltshire, England. In September 2015 the school converted to academy status and is now part of the Athelstan Academy Trust, which also includes Malmesbury School ...
(ages 11–18) is at Purton, near the west side of Swindon.
Further education
New College and Swindon College
Swindon College is a further education college in Swindon, England. Its campus is at North Star, just north of the town centre. The college offers HNC/Ds and Foundation Degrees, through to B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ...
cater for the town's further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
and higher education requirements, mainly for 16- to 21-year-olds. Swindon College is one of the largest FE-HE colleges in southwestern England, at a purpose-built campus in North Star, Swindon.
Higher education
Swindon is the UK's largest centre of population without its own university (by comparison, there are two universities in nearby Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, which is half Swindon's size). In March 2008, a proposal was made by former Swindon MP, Anne Snelgrove
Anne Christine Snelgrove (born 7 August 1957) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Swindon South from 2005 to 2010; from June 2009 to May 2010, she was a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minist ...
, for a university-level institution to be established in the town within a decade, culminating in a future 'University of Swindon' (with some touting the future institution to be entitled 'The Murray John University, Swindon', after the town's most distinguished post-war civic leader).
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...
has had a campus in Swindon since 1999. The campus offers degrees in Adult Nursing and Operating Department Practice ( ODP). The Joel Joffe Building opened in August 2016 and was officially opened in February 2017 by Lord Joel Joffe, a long-time Swindon resident and former human rights lawyer. From 1999 to 2016 the Ferndale Campus was based in north-central Swindon. The main OBU campus is about northeast of Swindon. The university also sponsors UTC Swindon
UTC Swindon is a University Technical College (UTC) in Swindon, England that opened in September 2014 for students of ages 14–19. The college specialises in engineering and is sponsored by Oxford Brookes University and Johnson Matthey Fuel C ...
, which opened in 2014 for students aged 14–19.
Between 2000 and 2008 the University of Bath
(Virgil, Georgics II)
, mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind
, established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
had a campus in Walcot, east Swindon.
The Royal Agricultural University
;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts"
, established = 2013 - University status – College
, type = public university, Public
, president = Charles III, King Charles
, vice_chancellor = P ...
has its Cultural Heritage Institute in the former railway carriage works.
Museums and cultural institutions
* The Richard Jefferies
John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influ ...
Museum, near Coate Water Country Park
Coate Water () is a country park situated to the southeast of central Swindon, England, near junction 15 of the M4. It takes its name from its main feature, a reservoir originally built to provide water for the Wilts & Berks Canal. Now named ...
, is dedicated to the memory of one of England's most individual writers on nature and the countryside.
* STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway
STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is housed in part of the former Swindon Works, railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'. The museum opened in 2000.
The site
...
is on part of the site of the former railway works.
* Lydiard House, at the centre of Lydiard Country Park
Lydiard Park is a country park at Lydiard Tregoze, which was its former name, about west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, near Junction 16 of the M4 motorway.
The park, which is included on the Historic England Register of Historic ...
, is a Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
house with staterooms containing collections of furniture and art.
*The Local Studies Collection at Swindon Central Library is an extensive local studies and family history archive.
* Swindon Arts Centre
Swindon Arts Centre is a 212-seat entertainment venue located in the Old Town area of Swindon, Wiltshire, England.[Wyvern Theatre
The Wyvern Theatre in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, opened in 1971.
It is managed on behalf of Swindon Borough Council by Wyvern Theatre Ltd, a subsidiary of HQ Theatres Ltd. The auditorium has 635 seats, all designed to be within 70 feet ...](_blank)
is the town's principal stage venue.
* Swindon Museum and Art Gallery
Swindon Museum and Art Gallery is a mothballed museum in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, which is currently closed while a new venue is sought.
Collections
The Swindon Art Gallery collection was established in 1944 by a local benefactor, H. J. P. ...
has collections related to local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...
, archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
and natural history as well as an important collection of modern British art and studio ceramics.
* The Museum of Computing
The Museum of Computing in Swindon, England is dedicated to preserving and displaying examples of early computers. It was the first United Kingdom museum exclusively dedicated to the history of computing and opened in February 2003.
Aims
It a ...
was the first computer museum in the UK.
*The Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
's National Collections Centre
The National Collections Centre, near Swindon, England, is the collections management facility for the Science Museum Group and the Science Museum Library & Archives.
Overview
The Science Museum originally took ownership of the 545-acre forme ...
is nearby at Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 an ...
.
*The Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
's Book Storage Facility is at South Marston
South Marston is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about north-east of Swindon town centre.
History
The earliest documentary evidence for continuous settlement dates from the 13th centur ...
on the edge of Swindon.
Sport
Football
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
are based at the County Ground near the town centre. They play in League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
, the fourth-highest tier of the English football league system, after being relegated from League One in 2021. The affiliated women's club, Swindon Town W.F.C., play in Division One South West of the FA Women's National League
The FA Women's National League, formerly WFA National League and FA Women's Premier League (WPL), is a group of six football divisions run by the English Football Association. Founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association, the League includ ...
; their first team play home games outside the town at Fairford Town's Cinder Lane ground.
The town also has a non-league club, Swindon Supermarine F.C.
Swindon Supermarine Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in South Marston, near Swindon, England. The club plays in the and is affiliated to the Wiltshire Football Association. The club plays at Webbswood Stadium on the no ...
, playing in the Premier South division of the Southern League at their South Marston
South Marston is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about north-east of Swindon town centre.
History
The earliest documentary evidence for continuous settlement dates from the 13th centur ...
ground. New College Swindon run a football academy for both sexes, usually alongside academic courses; until the summer of 2020 they fielded New College Swindon F.C.
New College Swindon Football Club was a football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Part of New College, Swindon, they played until the summer of 2020 in the Hellenic League at the Supermarine RFC ground in South Marston.
History
Th ...
, which played in Division One of the Hellenic League and was based at Supermarine's ground.
Rugby
Swindon has two rugby union teams, Swindon Rugby Football Club and Supermarine Rugby Football Club.
Swindon St George
Swindon St George are a rugby league team playing in the West of England Rugby League.
The kit consists of black and red shirts with black shorts and socks.
History
''Swindon Bulldogs'' rugby league club existed from the 1980s until 1995. They ...
are a rugby league team playing in the West of England Rugby League. The kit consists of black and red shirts with black shorts and socks. It was founded in 2007.
English Rugby player Jonny May
Jonathan James May (born 1 April 1990) is a professional rugby union player for Gloucester in Premiership Rugby and for the national team. He plays as a winger and is known for his speed and try scoring.
He began his senior career at Glouces ...
lived in Chiseldon
Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It takes its name from the Old English cisel dene, or gravel valley, being noted in the Domesday Book as ''Chiseldene''.
The village lies on the edge of the ...
and attended The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College
The Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Wroughton, near Swindon in the English county of Wiltshire.
The school was established in 1967 and was the first purpose-built comprehensive school in Wi ...
located in Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 an ...
, both nearby villages to Swindon.
Ice hockey
The Swindon Wildcats
The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They play in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 1600-capacity Link Centre ...
play in the second-tier English Premier Ice Hockey League
The English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) was an ice hockey league of 10 teams, all of which were based in England. Headquartered in Blackpool, the EPIHL was one of two professional ice hockey leagues in the United Kingdom (the other being th ...
. Since their inception in 1986, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 2,800-capacity Link Centre
The Link Centre is a leisure centre in Swindon, England. The building, owned by Swindon Borough Council and operated by Greenwich Leisure Limited, Greenwich Leisure under the brand "Better", is best known for its national-sized ice rink which ho ...
in West Swindon.
Motor sports
Swindon Robins
The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times l ...
is a speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
team competing in the top national division, the SGB Premiership
The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership is the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It was int ...
, where they were champions in the 2017 season. The team has operated at the Abbey Stadium, Blunsdon
Blunsdon is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England, about north of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its southern boundary. Its main settlement is the village of Broad Blunsdon, with Lower Blunsdon nearby; th ...
since 1949. There was a speedway track in the Gorse Hill area of Swindon in the early days of the sport in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Foxhill motocross circuit
Foxhill motocross circuit is a well-known motocross circuit situated near to the small village of Foxhill, around six miles south east of Swindon, Wiltshire, England.
Established in the late 1980s, the circuit is highly regarded by motocross ...
is southeast of the town and has staged Grand Prix events.
Athletics
Swindon has two athletics clubs affiliated to England Athletics
England Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in England. It was set up as a limited company in 2005, taking over the role of the Amateur Athletic Association of England. England Athletics is part of UK Athletics, the national ...
, Swindon Harriers (running, track and field) and Swindon Striders (running). There is also a group called Swindon Shin Splints. Two Hash House Harrier running groups are centred on Swindon, North Wilts Hash House Harriers (who run every Sunday) and the Moonrakers Hash House Harriers (who run every other Wednesday evening). There is a parkrun
Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...
held every Saturday at Lydiard Country Park.
Climbing
Swindon Mountaineering Club is affiliated to the British Mountaineering Council
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC ...
and organise meets for walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...
, rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
and mountaineering
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
in the UK and abroad. Members train on an indoor climbing wall
A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...
at the Rockstar Climbing Centre in Swindon.
Notable residents
*Dean Ashton
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
, former England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
international footballer
*Julian Clary
Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, numerous pantomim ...
, stand-up comedian who lived in Rodbourne
Rodbourne is a suburb of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, north of the town centre and about northwest of Swindon railway station. It includes an area formerly called Even Swindon.
Northern area
Land to the north of the Wilts and Berks Canal a ...
*Rick Davies
Richard Davies (born 22 July 1944) is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best known songs ...
, vocalist and keyboardist from the rock band Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending pro ...
.
*Diana Dors
Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer.
Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...
, actor
*Justin Hayward
David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the rock band the Moody Blues. Hayward became the group's principal lead guitarist and vocalist over the 1967–1974 ...
, lead singer and guitarist in the band The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...
.
*Nick Hewer
Nicholas Radbourn Hewer (born 17 February 1944) is a retired English television presenter, company director (2010) and former public relations consultant. From 2005 to 2014, he appeared as Alan Sugar's adviser in the British television series ' ...
, businessman and TV presenter
*Mark Lamarr
Mark Lamarr (born Mark Jones, 7 January 1967) is an English comedian, writer, radio DJ, and television presenter. He was a team captain on '' Shooting Stars'' from 1995 to 1997, and hosted ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' from 1996 to 2005.
Early li ...
, comedian, TV presenter and radio host
*Electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
group Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only ...
was originally formed in 1987 in Swindon.
*Melinda Messenger
Melinda Jane Messenger (born 23 February 1971) is an English television presenter and former glamour model and Page Three girl. She presented the magazine programme ''Live from Studio Five'' and was formerly the co-presenter of the reality show ...
, TV presenter and former glamour model
*Rachel Shelley
Rachel Shelley (born 25 August 1969) is an English actress and model. She is best known for playing Helena Peabody in the Showtime series ''The L Word'' and Elizabeth Russell in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood epic ''Lagaan''.
Early life
Rachel ...
, actor
*Gilbert O'Sullivan
Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and " Get Down".
O'Sullivan's s ...
, Irish-born singer-songwriter who grew up in Swindon
*Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
, actor
*Jon Richardson
Jon Joel Richardson (born 26 September 1982) is an English comedian. He is known for his appearances on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' and ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' and his work as co-host with Russell Howard on BBC 6 Music. He is the presente ...
, stand-up comedian who used to live in the town
*Ben Thatcher
Benjamin David Thatcher (born 30 November 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
He played for a number of English clubs, and has featured in more than 300 English league games, all of which were in the top two ...
, former Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
footballer who played internationally for Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
*Post-punk band XTC
XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...
was formed in Swindon in 1972. Three of the band's singles reached the UK top 20, gaining them a cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
.
Twin towns
* Salzgitter
Salzgitter (; Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven ''Oberzentren'' of Lower ...
, Germany
* Ocotal
Ocotal () is the capital of the Nueva Segovia Department in Nicaragua, Central America and the municipal seat of Ocotal Municipality.
History
The region currently occupied by the city of Ocotal was occupied by different ethnic groups that had pro ...
, Nicaragua
* Toruń
)''
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg
, image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg
, nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town
, pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
, Poland
* Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
, United States
See also
*History of Swindon
Swindon is a town in Wiltshire in the South West England, South West of England. People have lived in the town since the Bronze Age and the town's location, being approximately halfway between Bristol and London, made it an ideal location for the ...
*History of local government in Swindon
The history of local government in Swindon has its origins in the Middle Ages. After a long period of very little change, there followed a new era, beginning in the 19th century, of constant redevelopment and re-adjustment.
Parliamentary represe ...
*List of people from Swindon
Swindon is a large town in Wiltshire, England; its residents are called Swindonians and many have achieved notability throughout its history.
* Heidi Alexander – former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party MP for Lewisham East (UK Parliament cons ...
* List of schools in Swindon
*Transport in Swindon
Transport in Swindon, England, and the surroundings has directly contributed to the town's growth and the ingress of businesses and industries.
Located on the M4 Corridor and the Great Western Railway Main Line, Swindon's transport connections ...
*Swindon Civic Trust
The Swindon Civic Trust is a voluntary organisation and registered charity established in Swindon, England in 2001. Affiliated to the Civic Trust of England and Wales, the organisation's stated aims are to improve the quality of new and historic b ...
* Economy of Wiltshire
*Healthcare in Wiltshire
Healthcare in Wiltshire, England, is the responsibility of the integrated care board (ICB) for Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.
History
Prior to 2022
Victoria Hospital in Swindon was established in 1887, at first with 12 b ...
References
Further reading
* ''Swindon in 50 Buildings,'' Angela Atkinson, Amberley Publishing, 2019, paperback, 96 pages, (print), (ebook)
* ''Secret Swindon'', Angela Atkinson, Amberley Publishing, 2018, paperback, 96 pages,
*''Swindon'', Mark Child, Breedon Books, 2002, hardcover, 159 pages,
* ''Francis Frith's Swindon Living Memories (Photographic Memories S.)'', Francis Frith and Brian Bridgeman, The Frith Book Company Ltd, 2003, Paperback, 96 pages,
* ''An Awkward Size for a Town'', Kenneth Hudson, 1967, David & Charles Publishers (no ISBN)
External links
*
*
SwindonWeb
{{Authority control
Towns in Wiltshire
Borough of Swindon
Railway towns in England
Polish communities