Chippenham lies just outside the metropolitan reaches of cities like London and Bath in a comfortable area along the River Avon. It is here that the town and its thirty-thousand or so residents relax comfortably and peacefully. It is little wonder, then, that the town's motto is "Unity and Loyalty". After all, the many festivals that are held in the town, such as the Chippenham Folk Festival, help to create a mood of civic pride and camaraderie among the residents of this idyllic burg.
Interestingly enough, Chippenham's population, as meager as it is, was in fact part of a very recent expansion that only occurred after the rapid development of many housing estates and apartments. Before then Chippenham was even more sparsely populated but the history of the city goes back much further than housing developments and into the land of Norman conquerors and Saxon tribes. One of the first rulers of Chippenham was none other than the very deserving Alfred the Great. The beautiful scenery and hunting land available in Chippenham ensured that Alfred spent much time there shooting at the various wild game and taking in the gorgeous, picturesque landscapes. By 878, however, those ruthless beasts known as Vikings stormed the town and successfully took it over. These Danish sea warriors were eventually fought off and the land was reclaimed for Alfred, who barely escaped with his life from the original onslaught.
After growing healthily throughout the Middle Ages, Chippenham began to take on the typical qualities of English towns during the respective years. Around the 1500s, like many other English towns, Chippenham became enamored with the wool trade and was one of the most popular wool towns in the country thanks to the town's placement among the River Avon. Sadly, the wool recession was just around the corner right when Chippenham was digging its hooves into the ground. To make matters worse, this recession happened to neatly coincide with the Black Death which was sweeping across Europe at the time and leaving thousands of dead bodies in its wake. Chippenham tried its hand at corn production and cloth manufacturing but only fared slightly well at best. By the 1700s it seemed to many people in surrounding towns that Chippenham was on its last legs.
Luckily, Chippenham was saved by the same thing that saved countless other English towns that had similar fates: The advent of the Industrial Revolution and the creation of national railways. This Great Western Railway almost immediately improved Chippenham's fortunes and agriculture quickly gained a sizable footing in the city. Many businesses and factories also began to sweep into the town, creating an entirely new Chippenham one edifice at a time. This is around the time that Chippenham began to start resembling the city that it is today and, aside from a little surface damage as a result of World War Two, this is the picture of the Chippenham that we know and love today. If you have yet to visit this quaint town, do yourself a favour and stop by: The lovely people that call this town home will be glad to welcome you.
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