Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre

Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre is located in a fine 18th century grade II listed building in the Market Place. Our permanent displays tell the story of this historic market town, from prehistoric times up until the present day. You can discover more about the history of the town and local area by investigating our collections and by meeting some of our famous former residents as they guide you through history.

We have a regular series of changing temporary exhibitions, many of which we do in partnership with local clubs and societies. Go to our Diary Page to see what exhibitions we currently have.

Our education service provides advice, workshops, talks and lectures to schools, colleges, life long learning and community groups. The education service is free to civic area school groups, with minimal charges to other areas. Further details are available on the education pages.

Our fully fitted lecture room is also available for hire, offering space for up to 40 people. The room contains audio visual equipment, a hearing loop and tea & coffee making facilities. For further information, please contact us here.

We also have a dedicated research room that has access to our collection of maps, photographs, trade directories, town council minutes, burial records, historical electoral records and historic periodicals that can be used for genealogical and local history research. To see if we can help with your research or to book our research room please contact us.

There is also a shop, selling local history books and publications, relating to the town and local area.

There are many opportunities to become involved with Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre. We have a dedicated team of wardens who assist with all aspects of our work, from dealing with visitors, answering queries, working with the collection, assisting with educational work, helping with future exhibitions and researching local history subjects. To find our more about the work of our wardens and get involved yourself, see the information on our Wardens Newsletter.

The latest exhibition is a return to our series "Local Village Stories", highlighting the villages in our local area. This time we shall be featuring Allington, Stanley, Studley, Derry Hill and Stanton St Quintin; with a feature on Bird's Marsh Wood.

The exhibition will tell a number of intriguing stories; including a look at the medieval Bolehyde Manor and its link with Walter Raleigh and the "Flying Squire"; the prehistoric Lanhill Long Barrow, the oldest man-made structure in the area, the Stanton St Quintin murder, objects from the archaeological dig on the Romano-British site at Stanton Manor, a painting of Studley Saw Mills done on a bedsheet by an Italian POW who worked at the mills; and the history of the site of Stanley Abbey, including its long connections with royalty and the whereabouts of the only extant standing feature. With the recent interest in the area we shall also have a look at Bird's Marsh Wood, particularly its interesting archaeological sites.

The exhibition is running from Monday 18th May until Saturday 11th July, 2009, 10.00am-4.00pm. Admission is free.