Malmesbury is an old-established south Cotswold town in south west England in the county of Wiltshire. The town is close to Cirencester, Chippenham and Swindon and surrounded by rivers on three sides.

Malmesbury is the oldest borough in England (although Barnstaple has a counter claim), founded at the start of the 1st century BC. The town is famous for its 12th century Abbey. Some of the original abbey remains, though much was destroyed by a combination of fire and Henry VIII. The extant part of the old Abbey is now the parish church. The remains contain a fine parvise which still holds some fine examples of books from the Abbey library. Although once the centre of the lace-making industry, the industrial revolution has had little effect on the town. The railway station, built in 1877, was closed down in 1960. The Malmesbury Branch, built by the Great Western Railway split from the main London-Bristol line at Dauntsey, although a later connection with the northern GWR 'mainline' to the Severn Tunnel and Wales was made at Somerford. Just short of its terminus, the line ran through a short tunnel: the only tunnel on the line between Malmesbury and Paddington. The tunnel has one portal in the grounds of The Retreat.

Famous people associated with the town include Aldhelm the scholar, bishop and abbot, King Athelstan, recognised as the first king of England, Thomas Hobbes the philosopher, James Dyson, the inventor who set up the Dyson factory in Malmesbury and actor James Grout.

Near the town lies Bremilham Church, on a farm at Foxley-cum-Bremilham, which measures just 4m by 3.6m. Its single pew has space for four people and there is standing room for six more. The church, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest church in service in Britain, holds one service to mark Rogationtide.

Malmesbury's main employer is the headquarters of Dyson, now mainly a design organisation, with manufacturing carried out in Malaysia. The town also has a thriving High Street with numerous independent shops and a regular market.

Malmesbury is twinned with the German town of Niebüll and partnered with Gien in France.

Malmesbury is known as the ancestral home of the Hanks family.

See also

• Malmesbury Abbey
• William of Malmesbury — Famous historian
• Eilmer of Malmesbury — Made an early attempt at flight using mechanical wings

External links

• Malmesbury Photographs
• Town Tour of Malmesbury

Towns in Wiltshire

Malmesbury | Malmesbury