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Swindon

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Template:Infobox England place

For other places with the same name, see Swindon (disambiguation).

Swindon is a town in Wiltshire in the South West of England. The town is approximately midway between Bristol (64 km / 40 miles west) and Reading (71 km / 44 miles east) and some 130 km (81 miles) west of London, all on the main rail line using Swindon station. It was a designated 'Expanded' Town under the Town Development Act 1952, which led to a vast increase in the population of the town.[1] It is in the borough of Swindon, which has been a unitary authority independent of Wiltshire since 1998. In the 2001 census the population of the Swindon urban area was 155,432, whilst around 184,000 lived in the borough.

A resident of Swindon is known as a Swindonian. Swindon's motto is "Salubritas et Industria" (Health and Industry).

History

Main article: History of Swindon

The original Saxon settlement of Swindon sat in a defensible position atop a limestone hill. It is referred to in the Domesday Book as Suindune, a name believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words swine and dun meaning 'pig hill', or possibly 'Sweyn's hill' where Sweyn would be the local landlord. Swindon remained a small market town, mainly for barter trade, until the mid-1800s. This original market area of Swindon is located on top of the hill in central Swindon and is now known as Old Town.

The industrial revolution was responsible for an acceleration of Swindon's growth. It started with the construction of the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1810, and then the North Wilts canal in 1819. These two major routes brought trade to the area, and Swindon's population started to rise.

File:Swindon-DMJ-tower-from-rec.jpg
David Murray John tower, seen from Wescott Place

In 1840 Swindon was selected to house the large Swindon railway works for the Great Western Railway by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The works was situated at a point where engines would need to be changed. Eastwards towards London the line was gently graded, while westwards there was a steep descent towards Bath. Swindon was also at the junction of a proposed line to Gloucester.

Construction of the works was completed in 1842. A small railway village was created to house some of the railway workers. This area is now known as New Town (or the Town Centre). The Railway Village houses are still standing and are occupied, and several of the original buildings which comprised the engineering works also remain (though many are vacant). The Steam Railway Museum now occupies part of the old works.

In the second half of the 19th century the new area (Swindon New Town) created by the railway works and the original area from the market trading years (Swindon Old Town) were merged to become Swindon.

During much of the 20th century the railway works was the largest employer in the town. In the late-1970s a large part of the works closed, and the remainder followed in 1986.

In 2002 the New Swindon Company go to site was formed with the remit to regenerate the town centre, reflecting the regional importance of Swindon.

Geography and climate

File:Swindonmap1945.jpg
A map of Swindon from 1945

The town itself has a total area of approximately 40 km² (25.33 mi²).

Swindon has a temperate climate, with roughly equal length winters and summers. The landscape is dominated by the chalk hills of the Wiltshire Downs to the south and east.

Government

A Swindon-built locomotive (Hagley Hall) on display in the eating area of the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, Swindon.

The local council was created in 1974 as the Borough of Thamesdown, out of Swindon Borough and Highworth Rural Councils, but renamed in 1997 because the Borough of Swindon) has a much larger area as it encompasses villages and land. The borough became a unitary authority on 1 April 1998, following a review by Local Government Commission for England. The town is therefore no longer under the auspices of Wiltshire County Council.

The executive comprises a leader (Cllr Rod Bluh), and a cabinet made up from the Conservative Group. The makeup of the council is Conservative 42 councillors, Labour 12, Liberal Democrat 3 and Independents 2. Five councillors transferred from the Labour group to the Conservatives on 19 June 2006. Two have left the Lib Dems.

Swindon is represented in the national parliament by two MPs. Anne Snelgrove (Labour) was elected for the South Swindon seat in 2005, and Michael Wills, also Labour, has represented North Swindon since 1997. Prior to 1997, there was a single seat for Swindon, although a lot of what is now in Swindon was then in the Devizes seat.

Demographics

At the census of 2001, there were 180,051 people and 75,154 occupied houses in the Swindon Unitary Authority.[2] The average household size was 2.38 people. The population density was 780/km² (2020.19/mi²). 20.96% of the population were 0 to 15 years old, 72.80% were 16 to 74 years old, and the remaining 6.24% were 75 years old or over. For every 100 females there were 98.97 males. Approximately 300,000 people live within 20 minutes of Swindon town centre.

The Wilts and Berks Canal near Rushey Platt, Swindon.

The ethnic makeup of the town was 95.2% white, 1.3% Indian, and 3.5% other. Of the population, 92.4% were born in the UK, 2.7% in the EU, and 4.9% elsewhere in the world. More people have joined the Hare Krishna movement in Swindon than in any other English town.

Swindon is considered to be an almost exact microcosm of the whole United Kingdom in its demographic makeup, to the extent that it has been used for market research purposes and trials of new products and services. One example was the ill-fated Mondex electronic money.

It has been forecast that there will be a 70,000 (38.9%) increase in Swindon's population by 2026; from the current 180,000, to 250,000.[3]

In Summer 2006, 51% of households in Swindon have broadband Internet access, the highest in the UK.[4]

Business

Major employers include the Honda car production plant at South Marston, BMW/Mini in Stratton, mobile phone company Motorola, Dolby Labs and the retailer W H Smith which has its distribution centre and headquarters in Swindon. The computer company Intel has its European head office on the south side of the town and Lucent Technologies head office is on the west side. Insurance and financial services companies such as Nationwide Building Society and Zurich Financial Services, and pharmaceutical companies such as Patheon and Cardinal Health also have head offices in the town. Several of the UK's Science Research Councils have their head offices in Polaris House, adjacent to the rail station. Swindon is also the location of two Tyco Electronics (a division of Tyco International) sites, based in Dorcan and Cheney Manor.

Transport

File:Swindon Magic Roundabout eng.png
The Magic Roundabout
Main article: Transport in Swindon

Lying on the junction of two Roman roads, the town has developed over the centuries with the assistance of the Great Western Railway and the Canals into a transport hub. It has two junctions (15 and 16) onto the M4 Motorway and lies on the GWR mainline to London.

Swindon has two bus operators - Thamesdown and Stagecoach. The local council acknowledges the need for more car parking as part of its vision for 2010.[5]

The town is notable for its roundabouts, to the extent of selling yearly calendars featuring a different roundabout for each month.[6] The best known roundabout is the Magic Roundabout at the junction of Drove Road, Queens Drive and Fleming Way near the County Ground.

The official name of this roundabout used to be County Islands, although hardly anyone other than officials called it by this name. This name was was changed in the late 1990s to match its popular name. It is the subject of a pop song by local band XTC. Locals often refer to it by the colloquial name of "The Tragic Roundabout" due to the car accidents that occur on it, usually caused by drivers not familiar with its operation. Accidents most frequently occur on matchdays for Swindon Town F.C. and at weekends, due to increased traffic.

Tourism and recreation

McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, a shopping complex built within the disused Swindon railway engine works.
  • The Brunel Centre and the Parade are shopping areas in the town centre.
  • Retail parks include Greenbridge, West Swindon Shopping Centre, Stratton and the Orbital Shopping Park.
  • The Steam Railway Museum shows Swindon's part in the history of the Great Western Railway.
  • McArthur Glen Designer Outlet is an indoor shopping mall for reduced price designer goods, using the buildings of the disused railway engine works. The Outlet is adjacent to the Steam Museum.
  • The Link Centre and the Oasis are leisure centres.
  • Broome Manor Golf Complex is a golf course set against the backdrop of the Marlborough Downs.
  • Public parks include Lydiard Country Park, Stanton Park, Barbury Castle, Queens Park and Coate Water.
  • Shaw Community Forest is being developed on the site of a former landfill site in West Swindon.
  • The National Monuments Record Centre is in Swindon, the home of English Heritage.

Media

Education

Museums and cultural institutions

Sport

woot been tagged

Twin towns

Swindon is twinned with -

Books set in Swindon include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, the Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective, Sherlock Holmes, who ate lunch in the town in the novel The Boscombe Valley Mystery.

Robert Goddard's Into the Blue, Out of the Sun and most recently "Never Go Back" all feature the central character of Harry Barnett from Swindon, and all three novels start in the town. The TV detective series A Touch of Frost starring David Jason is often set in or around Swindon (called "Denton" in the series) and early episodes feature briefings of the detective team in front of recognisable maps of the Swindon area.

The British television comedy series The Office contains many references to Swindon. The town was also referred to heavily in a 1998 episode of The Comic Strip titled "Four Men in a Car" in which Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmundson et al attempt to get to Swindon for a sales conference. and featured Mayall's frequent lament "I just want to get to Swindon".

James Bond

Swindon references in music

Notable Swindonians

Further information: [[:List of notable Swindonians]]

References

  1. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS Project. "Swindon: Total Population". A Vision of Britain through time. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  2. ^ "Swindon UA". Census 2001. Office of National Statistics. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  3. ^ "Vision proposes 35,000 new homes". BBC News. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  4. ^ "Swindon 'leads broadband Britain'". BBC News. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  5. ^ "Car Parking - General Information". Transport & Streets. Swindon Borough Council. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  6. ^ "Round trip for town's calendar". BBC News. 2003. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  7. ^ a b c "Twin Towns". Swindon Borough Council. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  8. ^ "More About SOL". Swindon Ocotal Link. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  9. ^ "Chattanoga's Sister Cities". City of Chattanooga. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  10. ^ "James Bond". The Swindon Connection. SwindonWeb. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  11. ^ "The Renault Building". Swindon Places. SwindonWeb. Retrieved 2007-01-09.

See also

Further reading

  • Swindon, Mark Child, Breedon Books, 2002, hardcover, 159 pages, ISBN 1-85983-322-5
  • Francis Frith's Swindon Living Memories (Photographic Memories S.), Francis Frith and Brian Bridgeman, The Frith Book Company Ltd, 2003, Paperback, 96 pages, ISBN 1-85937-656-8
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Swindon".
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