Wiltshire

Towns & Villages

CHIPPENHAM

The Woodhouse - Photo: Phil Williams CCL

This delightful, old Saxon market town near Swindon was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is said to have been bequeathed by Alfred the Great to his daughter Elfrida.


Its most evocative houses are timber framed and date back to the 16th century.


Nearby Dyrham Park is a 270-acre deer park and 17th century mansion containing furniture, Dutch delftware and paintings.

In modern times Chippenham was the scene of a car crash in 1960 that killed the singer Eddie Cochran.






A stone marks the fateful site and each year the towns stages a special rock ‘n’ roll weekend in his memory.

Chippenham - Photo: Roger Cornfoot CCL

Sheldon Manor - Photo: Roger Cornfoot CCL

Sheldon is Wiltshire’s oldest inhabited manor house and is surrounded by a beautiful garden.





Some of Britain’s greatest ‘wonders, including the prehistoric site known as Avebury, the largest man-made earth mound in Europe, Silbury Hill, and West Kennet Long Barrow, the only open burial chamber in Europe, can all be found nearby.