Timeline

Introduction

The collections of Chippenham Museum began in 1962 with the opening of the town museum in the Yelde Hall by the borough council.
The collections from have grown since the move to the new museum and heritage centre in 2000, and currently stands at 14154 records.

The collections database is currently being worked on by museum staff.

To introduce the collections to the public examples have been chosen by from the museum collection under the following headings.

• Geology
• prehistoric archaeology
• Roman archaeology
• Roman archaeology
• Sacon archaeology and events
• Medieval/Tudor finds and trade
• Weving and growth of the town in the 18th Century
• 19th Century canal and railways Chippenham

Geology

Collection of local fossils, mainly from the parishes of Chippenham and Chippenham without.
The collection is particularly rich in examples of ammonites, belimites and crinoids from the jurassic age.

Pre history

Objects from the Middle Stone Age, New Stone Age and Bronze Age Over the last 20 years have grown in Chippenham and the strong interest in archaeology by the public has resulted in archaeological finds which illustrate the beginnings of occupation in the Chippenham area.

Middle Stone Age, New Stone Age and Bronze Age

The Prehistoric collections in the museum consist mostly of flint tools and weapons that indicate temporary camp sites on the rising ground above the River Avon.

Bronze Age

There is little evidence of Bronze Age activity in the Chippenham area except the finding of two Bronze Age spear heads near Christian Malford, near Chippenham.

Roman

Excavation in Chippenham town centre have recovered roman pottery and building materials indicating occupation.

Extcavations behind the new magistrate's court and on the site of the Old Lowden brickyard have uncovered early roman farming settlements.

Saxon

Chippenham is recorded in the Anglo Sacon chronicle as a royal villa Regina and was owned by the royal house of Wessex in the 9th Century. Under King Alfred, Chippenham was at the centre of the Danish wars. Excavations have recovered a few objects that relate to this period.

Medievil

Chippenham began to grow in the medieval period due to wealth created by the rich agriculture land and its beginning association with the cloth trade.
There is little left above ground of the medieval period except parts of the historic Yelde Hall and sections of St Andrews Church

An important character in Chippenham history is Maud Heath and her bequest

Not far from Chippenham is the site of Stanley Abbey founded in 1150. Excavations by Sir Herald Brakespeare in 1905/6 uncovered the remains. The Museum collection holds numerous examples of decorated and glazed floor tiles which were made in kilns near Lacock.

Tudor

The town prospered grew with a successful market that was given a charter in 1554 by Queen Anne.

18th Century - Weaving and growth of the town in the 18th Century

The early 18th century was particularly important in Chippenham for the development of the cloth industry. Although cloth making has existed in the area since the Middle Ages, this would have been on a small scale with the cloth worked by individuals. Clothiers bought wool and then distributed it to spinners; the spun wool would then be returned to the clothiers who would take it to the weavers, etc.
Some cloth making families, such as the Scotts and Goldneys, did become wealthy and moved up the social ranks to be considered as 'gentry' due their prosperity as clothiers. But when the clothiers began working with a City of London merchant, Samuel Fludyer, to sell their cloth in London, this created a bigger demand and hence greater wealth. So many of the clothiers we able to build fine houses, that Chippenham gained the description of 'Little Bath'.

19th Century - Canal and railways

Trade and transport developed in the area after the building of a canal spur off the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1798. The principal trading commodity arriving at the wharf (now the site of the bus station in Timber Street) was coal from Somerset.

A greater stimulus to trade was the construction by I K Brunel of his Great Western Railway from London to Bristol, which reached the town in 1841. Many new industries began to develop, such as iron founding for the railways, wagon makers, brewing, farm machinery and butter churns, which coincided with a decline in the cloth industry. These new industries also created a need for new housing, and saw the town expand north of the railway line and encouraged the production of local bricks and use of the limestone from local quarries.

By the mid 19th Century agricultural products of milk, cheese and ham and then the Nestles factory utilised the railway to export its products. The area to the north of the railway station prospered as railway engineering works, with the arrival of Rowland Brotherhood in 1842. In 1894 Evans O'Donnell Limited took over part of his works and in 1904 they joined up with Saxby & Farmer who eventually merged, in 1920 under the name of Westinghouse Brake and Saxby Signal Company Limited. In 1935 the name was changed to Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co Ltd, and was the main employer in Chippenham in the 20th Century.