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Swindon is a town in Wiltshire in the 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 Locomotive Factories of the Great Western Railway in the 19th century.
The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Swindon sat in a defensible position atop a limestone hill. It is referred to in the 1086 Domesday Book as Suindune, [2] believed to be derived from the Old English 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.
The first borough of Swindon was a municipal borough, created in 1900 as a merger of the two urban districts of Old Swindon and New Swindon. [2]In 1974 the borough of Thamesdown was created under the Local Government Act 1972.
A well-circulated myth states that Brunel and Gooch were surveying a vale north of Swindon Hill and Brunel either threw a stone or dropped a sandwich and declared that spot to be the centre of the works. [2] [3] However, Swindon's midway point between GWR terminals and the topography of land near the town were more likely factors. [4] [5]
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.
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre is open to the public. Appointments are not compulsory but the staff can be informed in advance of a visit to make the most of the time available for research. The centre operates a computerised user registration system, so a form of identification including name and address is required.
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Swindon Town was seen as the most important station on the line, and housed the M&SWJR's offices. There was a loop line, a locomotive turntable and a loco shed at the site. The loop line platform was used for the shuttle services to Swindon's GWR station when these were reinstated following the takeover of the M&SWJR by the GWR at the Grouping ...