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Chippenham's history
Chippenham in Wiltshire
History
?600AD (after 556 and Cynric's victory south of Swindon at Barbury Hill) Saxons found Chippenham. Called Cyppa's hamm(e) (river meadows of Cippe). The town is traditionally administered by a Bailiff and 12 Burgesses. There is a suggestion that Cyppa comes from the word 'ce-ap' meaning market.
850-899 Alfred King of Wessex.
853 King Alfred's sister Ethelswitha was married to the king of Mercia "from the villa regia which was in Chippenham".
878 The Danish army under Guthrum spent the winter in Chippenham. The town name was written as Cippanhamm.
879 King Alfred (age 30) vanquished the demoralized Danes without a fight. He then declared the state of Wessex. This included Chippenham, which contained his hunting lodge.
899 King Alfred left his manor of Chippenham to his youngest daughter Alfritha. She married Baldwin, Count of Flanders.
933 The Saxon Parliament, the Witan, met in Chippenham.
978-1015 Ethelred II minted coins in major Saxon towns. Some coins bear the word Cepen. One can suppose that there was a mint in Chippenham at that time.
1042 Bishop Osbern's church owned 100 acres in Chippenham.
1086 The Domesday book listed Chippenham as Cepen. It is listed as Terrae Regis - King's land. The Domesday book specifies 600-700 inhabitants (29 000+ today), of which 136 people held arable land and 23 were hog keepers. There were 36 square miles of woodland and 12 mills listed.
1120 Norman work added to Chippenham Church.
1135-1154 King Stephen had coins struck with the word Cepen on them.
1140 (perhaps 1190) Rowden Manor was meant to give £7 10s as a pension for Hodierna - a nurse to Richard I.
1151-54 Stanley Abbey founded. It lasted until 1536.
1155 The town name was written as Cheppeham.
1227 The town name was written as Chippenham.
1231 Sheldon Manor was given to Sir Walter de Godarville by Henry III.
1250 Through marriage, Sheldon Manor becomes the property of the Gascelyn family.
1250 Rowden Manor granted to Lady Agnes, widow of Sir Godfrey St Maur, by Henry III. Her son had to forfeit the Manor on a charge of felony and rebellion. It was then sold to Nicholas Husee.
1256 St Peter's Church dedicated by the Bishop of Sarum.
1272 Lowden Manor sold by the Pavelys family to the Gascelyn family.
1275 Royal Commission looking into encroachment on Royal Lands reports that the Forest of Chippenham begins at Fermerie House and ends at Hinlond (now called Englands).
1275 The Baliff of Chippenham, Robert Stoket, had siezed wool passing through the town during Henry III's troubled reign. An enquiry was held during Edward I's reign.
1295 Johannes de Burle and Robert Osegod were elected as the first MPs for Chippenham.
1319 The town name was written as Shippenham.
1307-1327 King Edward II granted Chippenham two markets and four fairs (two to the Gascelyn family).
1369 Borough Arms used as the Common Seal of Chippenham.
1392 Rowden Manor sold to Sir John Arleigh.
1424 Christina Gascelyn marries Edward Hales, and sells Sheldon Manor to Walter, Lord Hungerford for £1000.
1434 Lord Hungerford buys Rowden Manor.
1442 Chantry built.
1450s Throughout the middle ages, Chippenham was an important wool town. Packhorses brought wool for spinning and weaving in the town.
1474 Maud Heath's causeway was built to ensure that people could walk dry shod into the town. The causeway stretches from Bremhill Wick Hill to Chippenham - about 4.5 miles.
1541 The town name was written as Chippyngham.
1537 Dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII. Allington was given to Edward Seymour, Stanley Abbey was given to Sir Henry Baynton.
1554 Queen Mary was petitioned to help the maintenance of 2 MPs, the bridge, and the upkeep of a raised causeway leading into the forest towards London. The Bailiff at the time was called Henry Ffarnswell, alias Goldney. He was also mayor and MP. On the 2nd May, Queen Mary granted the town a charter of incorporation.
1560 Queen Mary confirmed the charter.
1609 Ludovic Muggleton born. He was a fanatic who founded a strange religious sect.
1615 Two arches and two piers from the town bridge fell in the river
1621 King James I passed through town. St Andrews church bells rang out.
1630 The Forest of Chippenham, which was owned by the Earl of Anglesey (from the time of James 1) was 'disafforested'. Serious rioting followed because local people held rights to feed cattle in the forest. The Countess of Anglesey was taken captive by rebels in Pewsham.
1633 The tower of St Andrews Church was rebuilt.
1643 The town's MPs, Sir Edward Baynton and Sir Edward Hungerford, were Parliamentarians in the civil war. After a battle at Lansdown (Bath), the losing Royalist forces came to Chippenham. 8 July they faced Waller's forces. The Royalists left the town and the Parliamentary army marched in. After skirmishes, the main battle took place at Roundway Down (Devizes).
1644 General Massey captured a garrison in the town and began a siege of Rowden House (the Hungerford residence). King Charles in Chippenham in November
1645 Siege of Rowden House over, the garrison surrendered. Much fighting in and around the town. Parliamentary army victorious in England in September.
1648 Cromwell visited Chippenham, and stayed at the White Hart.
1650 A causeway was made from Chippenham to Derry Hill.
1666 John Woodman of Kellaways hatched a plot (in the Lyon Inn - now London Buildings near St Andrews Church) to burn London. After the great fire a warrant for his arrest was issued.
1679 Town pump given by Sir Edward Hungerford.
1684 The Hungerford family cease to be lords of all three manors (Sheldon, Lowden, and Rowden).
1685 King James II grants a new charter.
1694 Pump Room at the Chippenham Spa in St Marys Street.
1713 First Charity School opened.
1747 Two MPs for Chippenham were involved in a corruption scandal that resulted in the downfall of Sir Robert Walpole's government.
1754 (or just before) Sir Samuel Fludyer, later Lord Mayor of London and a director of the Bank of England, bought cloth from Chippenham, bringing much prosperity. He also became MP.
1758 Town bridge widened.
1792 New Road opens - made by Turnpike Trustees.
1796 Town bridge widened.
1798 Wilts and Berks Canal connected to Chippenham, through Englands.
1812 Robert Peel (later founder of the Metropolitan Police) was elected MP for Chippenham.
1816 Fire destroys Chippenham Mill.
1817 Chippenham Mill rebuilt.
1820 Chippenham was joined to the Wilts and Berks canal near Pewsham. The Wilts and Berks canal ran from Semington to Abingdon and linked with the Kennet and Avon canal at Semington. The wharf in Chippenham was in Timber St (opposite the new library).
1831 Henry George Bolero was elected MP. He ensured that the Reform Act (1832) left Chippenham with 2 MPs. The grateful citizenry presented him with a silver cup.
1834 New Hall built (Neeld Arms added in 1851) - built as a cheese market. 400 tons of cheese passed through Chippenham each week
1835 Chippenham Council comprised 4 Aldermen and 12 Councillors. Joseph Neeld built the Town Hall. The Railway Company applied for land in Chippenham.
1840 William Henry Fox Talbot invented the negative-positive process of photography, at nearby Lacock Abbey.
1841 The Railway arrived in Chippenham. Many engineering works were set up soon afterwards. Rowland Brotherhood set up business in Chippenham. He was one of the contractors on the railway.
1842 Rowland Brotherhood's civil engineering works built alongside the station. Originally, it repaired and built equipment used in earth moving, it later diversified into manufacturing signals and points for the railway. Finally, it built iron bridges, waggons, and locomotives. The company moved to Bristol 30 years later. The buildings are now occupied by Westinghouse Brake & Signal Works.
1850 Joseph Neeld, MP for Grittleton.
1854 Municipal reform Act - Chippenham has a mayor and corporation.
1856 Shambles destroyed by fire.
1858 Chippenham station enlarged.
1865 There were riots outside the Angel Inn and tombstones in St Andrews church were destroyed. Two Tory MPs, John Neeld (211? votes) and Gabriel Goldney (209? votes), were elected and the Liberal candidate Mr Lysley (189? votes), who had been MP, was defeated. Riots occurred not only because of the Liberal defeat, but also because many people did not have a vote at that time. News of the riots appeared in the Times.
1866 Chippenham was restricted to one MP under the Redistribution of Seats Act.
1867 Town pump removed.
1874 Rev. Francis Kilvert was vicar at Langley Burrell. Kilvert is famous for his diaries of life around Chippenham and in South Wales, the first of which was published in 1938.
1884 Reform Act means that Chippenham is now part of North-West Wilts constituency.
1885 The last hiring fair was held in Chippenham. Servants would stand waiting for people to come and offer them work.
1886 St Peter's church Lowden opened.
1887 Three days of celebration were held for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee.
1896 Lowden School opens.
1897 Canal company tries to close the canal.
1912 Permission was given for the council to fill up the canal from the tunnel to the wharf (in Timber St).
1914 Chippenham town boundaries were extended. The Council is increased to 6 Aldermen and 18 Councillors. The Wilts and Berks canal was closed by Act of Parliament.
1915 Mill burnt.
1942 20th April, a German bomb landed at the Folly, Bristol Road. Some houses in Hungerdown Lane were damaged, but luckily no-one was hurt.
1952 Chippenham's town boundaries were extended.
1960 Rock star Eddie Cochran died in a car crash at Rowden Hill (17th April). Gene Vincent was also in the car.
1961 Gene Vincent gave a performance at the Neeld Hall.
1972 St Peter's church moves to new site.
1973 Lowden School closes and St Peter's School opens.
1973 The first Chippenham Folk festival was held.
1974 Chippenham Borough Council was incorporated into the new North Wiltshire District Council. Chippenham has 12 District Councillors. There are also 3 Chippenham County Councillors on the Wiltshire County Council.
1983 The constituency of Chippenham was renamed as North Wiltshire.
1984 Chippenham's town boundaries were extended. The Parish Council was created. There were 24 elected Councillors. The Council resolved to have the status of a town with a Town Mayor and Deputy Town Mayor.
1993 The first Chippenham Business and Community Exhibition was held in the Neeld Hall with the maxim, "Chippenham means Business". Chippenham's Story was performed in the town. This was organised by Theatre in the Down.
1994 St Peter's School celebrates its 21st birthday.
1995 VE Day celebrations in the town.
1998 On Friday 13th February, two unexploded bombs were found on the site of the new Abbeyfield secondary school at Hardens Mead. This left-over from the second world war caused large numbers of residents in the east of Chippenham to be evacuated for two nights while the bomb was defused. Eventually, there was a controlled explosion by the army.
2000 Chippenham Town FC lose 1-0 to Deal in the FA Vase final at Wembley.
The Chippenham coat of arms is derived from the Gascelyn family who were lords of Sheldon manor (1250-1424) and the Husee family who owned the manor at Rowden (1250-1392). The tree joining them refers to the great forest (36 miles square) recorded in the Domesday book.
Spell Chippenham: Cippanhamme (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle); Cyppan-Hamm; Cipeham; or Chipnam. Or, I suppose, Cepen (pronounced with a hard C - as in Coca Cola).