64-572: Box Tunnel passes through Box Hill on the Great Western Main Line (GWML) between Bath and Chippenham . The 1.83-mile (2.95 km) tunnel was the world's longest railway tunnel when it was completed in 1841. Built between December 1838 and June 1841 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) under the direction of Isambard Kingdom Brunel , the straight tunnel descends on a 1 in 100 gradient from its eastern end. At
128-456: A bribery and corruption scandal (involving two members of parliament for Chippenham) led to the downfall of Sir Robert Walpole 's government. A branch to Chippenham off the Wilts & Berks Canal was built in 1798, terminating at a wharf at Timber Street near the marketplace; the main commodity traded was coal. The site of the wharf is now the town's bus station, and part of Pewsham Way follows
192-532: A charity which they will support throughout their year of office. Other tasks include presiding over Town Council meetings and acting as president of various local organisations, such as the Twinning Association and the Sea Cadets . In 1812, Sir Robert Peel , the creator of the modern police force, served as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for Chippenham . Until 2010, the town
256-534: A church. The 1086 Domesday Book listed Chippenham as Chepeham , with a substantial population of 177 households. In Norman times, the royal properties were separated into the manors of Sheldon, Rowden and Lowden. Records show that the town expanded into Langstret (now the Causeway) from 1245, and from 1406 into Le Newstret (now the New Road area of town). Throughout this period, Chippenham continued to have
320-462: A dangerous undertaking at best. The challenge posed was not only its length but the difficult underlying strata it would have to pass through. The rocks through which it passes comprise Great Oolite overlying fuller's earth , and Inferior Oolite and Bridport Sand beneath, a combination with which tunnellers were familiar. The Great Oolite limestone, known as Bath Stone , is easily worked and had been used for construction since Roman times. In
384-436: A gradient of 1 in 100. At the time, the use of such a steep gradient inside the tunnel allegedly provoked criticism by some of Brunel's contemporaries. Box Tunnel would be the longest railway tunnel at almost 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 miles (2.8 km) in length. While a tunnel had been included in the 1835 Great Western Railway Act, contemporary engineers considered the construction of Box Tunnel to be an impossibility at worst and
448-440: A number of other industrial sites around the town, Bumpers Farm being the largest. In 2005, Wincanton PLC , Europe's second-largest logistics organisation, consolidated its head office operations and moved to the newly developed Methuen Park office development in west Chippenham, where it employs around 350 people. Chippenham is a market town, with street markets taking place every Friday and Saturday around Market Place and along
512-417: A result of his injuries and a memorial plaque was erected near the site. On 13 February 1998, two unexploded bombs from World War II were discovered in the field behind Hardens Mead during preparations for the building of Abbeyfield School. About 1,100 residents in the east of Chippenham had to be evacuated for two nights until the army carried out a controlled explosion . The Army initially tried to defuse
576-559: A thriving market in the town centre. The A4 that runs through Chippenham incorporates parts of the 14th-century medieval road network that linked London to Bristol. This was an important road for the English cloth trade, and so its upkeep was funded in part by Bristol cloth merchants. Chippenham was represented in the Parliament of England from 1295, and Queen Mary granted the town a Charter of Incorporation in 1554. Analysis of
640-607: A tour. From 1963, the Town Museum was housed in the Yelde Hall. By 2000, it had outgrown the site and moved to the former Magistrates' Court in the Market Place. The museum charts the history of the town from Neolithic times until today. By 2005, the museum had attracted over 90,000 visitors. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country . Television signals are received from
704-469: Is also served by a route connecting Swindon with Westbury , via Melksham . The Chippenham and Calne line formerly connected the town to Calne but is now a cycle path. The station is famous for its railway arches and other buildings engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel , as part of the historic Great Western Railway development. Chippenham lies 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the M4 motorway , which links
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#1732773260532768-579: Is in the town centre and tells the story of the market town. Chippenham is twinned with La Flèche in France and Friedberg in Germany. La Flèche is on the Loire , 42 km (26 mi) from Le Mans and 72 km (45 mi) from Tours . Its Prytanée national militaire school dates back to the time of King Henry IV of France . Friedberg is a walled town 64 km (40 mi) from Munich and
832-621: Is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon , where some form of settlement is believed to have existed since before Roman times. It was a royal vill and probably a royal hunting lodge, under Alfred the Great . The town continued to grow when the Great Western Railway arrived in 1841. It had a population of 36,548 in 2021. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records
896-631: The Bavarian Alps , founded in 1264 by Ludwig the severe and his nephew . It holds many sporting and cultural events such as the 17th century Street Festival. The Chippenham Folk Festival takes place every year, usually over the Whitsuntide weekend. There is an annual festival in remembrance of American rock and roll singer Eddie Cochran , who died on 17 April 1960 following a car accident in Chippenham on his way back to London during
960-575: The Corsham Computer Centre . As of the present day, the only element of the complex that remains is the former computer centre. The visible north end of the tunnel has been sealed by concrete and rubble. The former CAD has been reused as a secure commercial document storage facility. The tunnel was planned to be electrified by 2017 as part of the Great Western Electrification Programme . During
1024-580: The 16th century, partly due to the river. The plague hit the town hard in 1611 and 1636. This, a recession in the woollen industry, and a drop in corn production in 1622 and 1623, caused massive hardship for the town's population. The trade in cloth faced further problems during the English Civil War due to a Royalist proclamation that prohibited the sale of cloth to the Parliamentarian-controlled London. In 1747,
1088-472: The 17th and 18th centuries it was extracted by the room and pillar method and used for many buildings in Bath, Somerset . To assess the geology more accurately, between 1836 and 1837, Brunel sank eight shafts at intervals along the tunnel's projected alignment. The GWR selected George Burge of Herne Bay as the major contractor, being responsible for undertaking 75 per cent of overall tunnel length, working from
1152-551: The 1980s, this flagship store was sold and became a Wilko branch, but the Co-operative Group diversified into other areas, such as insurance and funeral services, which still operate through many local branches. Chippenham railway station is a stop on the Great Western Main Line . Great Western Railway operates inter-city trains to London Paddington , Swindon , Bristol Temple Meads , Weston-super-Mare , Cardiff Central , Swansea , Plymouth and Penzance . It
1216-420: The 2015 lowering of the trackbed for electric catenary to be installed. The eastern portal at Corsham has a more modest brick face, with rusticated stone dressings. Commentators and critics voiced concerns and disapproval about the unlined section of the tunnel; they believed that it lacked solidity and was a danger to traffic. The GWR responded to these complaints by building a brick arch underneath part of
1280-612: The 55 to Swindon , X31 to Bath, X34 to Trowbridge and Frome, 33 to Devizes, 44K to Kington St Michael and 99 to Malmesbury and Swindon. National Express coach services call at Chippenham to destinations including Bath, Bristol, Swansea , Heathrow Airport and London . Surrounding the town are a number of stone-built villages, including Lacock ( National Trust ), Biddestone , Bremhill , and Castle Combe . The great house and art treasures of Longleat , Bowood House , Lacock Abbey , Sheldon Manor and Corsham Court are within easy reach. Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre
1344-540: The Council Chamber was used as the town gaol. The population of Chippenham civil parish recorded at the 2021 census was 36,548. Chippenham's population grew rapidly in the 1990s, from 25,376 in 1991 to 28,065 at the 2001 census, an increase of 11%. This reflected the development of large housing estates (indeed, entirely new suburbs) such as Cepen Park to the west of the town, and the Pewsham development to
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#17327732605321408-532: The GWR was contracted to build a 1,000-foot-long (300 m) raised twin-loading platform at Shockerwick for Monkton Farleigh and two sidings branching from the Bristol–London mainline just outside the tunnel's eastern entrance at 51°24′19.31″N 2°17′22.94″W / 51.4053639°N 2.2897056°W / 51.4053639; -2.2897056 . Thirty feet (9.1 m) below and at right angles to this point,
1472-555: The High Street. A Farmers' Market for the sale of fresh, locally produced foodstuffs is also held here once a fortnight. The original Cattle Market, which closed in 2004, is now being redeveloped by Linden Homes Western Limited as one of the UK's largest eco-housing projects. Chippenham's main retail area surrounds the High Street (which is closed to traffic during the day) and the Market Place. Two shopping centres lie on either side of
1536-782: The High Street: the enclosed Emery Gate Shopping Centre and the open-air Borough Parade. In and around the High Street, there are very few independent shops as franchises dominate; there are some independent shops along The Causeway and in the Upper Market Place. Retail parks, such as the Hathaway Retail Park, Bath Road Retail Park and the Chippenham Retail Park (Bumpers Way), are towards the edge of town and contain larger superstores and fast-food outlets. The Chippenham Co-operative Society
1600-566: The Roman villages now within its boundaries) is believed to have been founded by Anglo-Saxons around AD 600. In AD 853, Æthelswith (sister to Alfred the Great) married King Burgred of Mercia at Chippenham. Alfred was then a boy of four and the wedding was held on the site of St Andrew's church. According to Bishop Asser 's Life of King Alfred , Chippenham was, under Alfred's reign, a royal vill ; historians have also argued, from its proximity to
1664-565: The Town Council employs a Chief Executive rather than a Town Clerk. Historically a market town, Chippenham's economy has since changed to that of a commuter town with residents travelling to workplaces in Bath, Bristol, Swindon and even London (almost 100 miles to the east). Several large businesses have been located in the region, with the biggest former employer being Westinghouse , now owned by Siemens , whose factory complex lies next to
1728-620: The War Office had built a narrow-gauge wagon-sorting yard which accessed a 1.25-mile (2.0 km) tunnel, built by the Cementation Company , descending at a rate of 1 in 8.5 to the Central Ammunition Depot in the former quarry workings. The logistics operation was designed to cope with a maximum of 1,000 tons of ammunition per day. A Royal Air Force station, RAF Box , was established and used an area of
1792-634: The World Heritage city of Bath . The village has a pub , the Quarryman's Arms . [REDACTED] Media related to Box Hill, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons This article about a location in Wiltshire is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire , England. It lies 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Bath , 86 miles (138 km) west of London and
1856-573: The centre of the Shambles at the current location of Barclays Bank. It was used for the sale of meat and dairy products. In 1889, Mr E.C. Lowndes bought the structure for £6 and re-erected it as a gazebo in the kitchen garden of the manor house at Castle Combe , where it fell into disrepair. The Buttercross was re-erected in 1995 by the Chippenham Civic Society , funded by many local people and organisations. It currently stands as
1920-442: The centre-piece of the pedestrianised area of the town centre, where a market is held each Friday and Saturday. The Yelde Hall is one of very few remaining medieval timber framed buildings in the town. It originally was divided internally for use as a market hall. Both the hall and its meeting room upstairs were used by the burgess and bailiff for a variety of meetings and trials as well as for Council meetings. The space under
1984-523: The east (named for the small village of Pewsham , further east). The offices of North Wiltshire District Council were in the town until 2009, when a unitary authority was created for the whole of Wiltshire. The offices in Monkton Park were taken over by Wiltshire Council , which has its headquarters in Trowbridge. The office of Town Mayor was established in 1835, before which Chippenham
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2048-399: The eastern end to 300 feet (91 m) towards the western end. The men, equipment, materials and 247,000 cubic yards (189,000 m) of extract had to go in and come out of the shafts assisted by steam-powered winches. The shafts were the safety exits from the tunnel. Candles provided the only lighting in the workings and were consumed at a rate of one tonne per week, which was equalled by
2112-549: The larger 750 kg (1,650 lb) device, but it was decided that owing to the bomb's orientation in the ground this would be too dangerous. Chippenham is in western Wiltshire, at a prominent crossing of the River Avon . It is located between the Marlborough Downs to the east, the southern Cotswolds to the north and west, and Salisbury Plain to the south-east. The town is surrounded by sparsely populated countryside and there are several woodlands in or very near
2176-422: The line of the branch. The Great Western Railway arrived in Chippenham in 1841, and in turn attracted many new businesses. The arrival of these businesses required new housing which led to the expansion of the town into land north of the railway, which in turn led to the growth of further industries to support the building work. The arrival of the railway promoted the growth of industrial agricultural businesses. In
2240-526: The middle of the 19th century, Chippenham was a major centre for the production of dairy and ham products; this led, later, to Nestlé and Matteson's having factories in the town centre. The railway also led to the growth of railway engineering works in Chippenham: the first of these was Roland Brotherhood in 1842. A variety of companies then took over part or all of the business on the site, until in 1935 Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company Ltd took over
2304-402: The name is spelt both "Chippenham" (for the hundred ) and "Chipnam" (for the town). There are believed to have been settlements in the Chippenham region since before Roman times. Remains of Romano-British settlements are visible in the wall behind the former magistrates' court , and recent redevelopments of the town have shown up other evidence of early settlements. The town (not counting
2368-468: The part of Brunel. During January 1841 Brunel came to an agreement with Burge and Yockney to increase their workforce from 1,200 to 4,000, and the tunnel was completed in April 1841. The completed tunnel was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and capable of accommodating a pair of broad-gauge tracks. When the ends of the tunnel were joined, there was less than 2 inches (50 mm) of error in their alignment. Brunel
2432-469: The railway station. The company undertakes railway signalling contracts for Network Rail , London Underground as well as railway operators in other parts of the world, e.g. Beijing Subway , Oslo Public Transport Administration , SMRT Corporation , Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation , MTR Corporation and many others. Parts of the Westinghouse site are occupied by a range of companies. There are
2496-600: The royal forests at Melksham and Barden, that it was probably a hunting lodge. Alfred's daughter was also married in Chippenham. Danish Vikings successfully besieged Chippenham in 878. Later that year, at the Battle of Ethandun , Alfred decisively defeated the Danes, whose forces then surrendered to Alfred at Chippenham (ushering in the establishment of the Danelaw ). In 1042, the royal holding in Chippenham makes mention of
2560-525: The site contributed to a delay in the tunnel's completion. By August 1839, only 40 per cent of the works had been finished. By summer 1840, the London Paddington to Faringdon Road section of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) had been completed, as was the track from Bath to Bristol Temple Meads . The Box Tunnel was the last section of the GWML to be finished, although not for lack of effort on
2624-467: The site fully. The signalling side of the business remains at the Chippenham site and is now owned by Siemens Rail Automation Group; the brakes business was taken over by the German company Knorr-Bremse, and is in nearby Melksham. On 17 April 1960, American singers Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent , and songwriter Sharon Sheeley , were involved in a car crash in Chippenham at Rowden Hill. Cochran died as
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2688-503: The southern part of the town, linking Chippenham to nearby Corsham , Calne and Bath. In November 2019, the government approved an eastern extension linking the A4 to the A350 north of Cepen Park. A link road bypassing the new Birds Marsh area to the north-east of the town opened in 2022. Chippenham's bus services are operated by Stagecoach West , Faresaver and Coachstyle. Key routes include
2752-404: The summer of 2015, the tunnel was closed for six weeks for preparatory work including lowering the track by roughly 600 millimetres (24 in) and replacing 7 miles (11 km) of cabling in advance of the catenary infrastructure being installed. However a November 2016 announcement stated that the plan to electrify the mainline from Thingley Junction (near Chippenham ) to Bristol Temple Meads
2816-466: The sun shone through the tunnel on 6 April, the birthday of Brunel's sister, Emma Joan Brunel, three years out of four during the 1830s. Starting in 1844, the hill surrounding the tunnel was subject to extensive quarrying to extract Bath stone for buildings. In the run-up towards the Second World War , the need to provide secure storage for munitions at distributed locations across the UK
2880-477: The time being. During the 1830s, Isambard Kingdom Brunel developed a plan for a railway running east–west between London and Bristol. The Great Western Main Line would maintain either level ground or gentle gradients of no greater than 1 in 1000 along most of its route. Between Swindon and Bath , at the highest point of the line, a tunnel was proposed through Box Hill , outside Corsham . The tunnel would have
2944-439: The time the tunnel's construction was considered dangerous due to its length and the composition of the underlying strata. The west portal is Grade II* listed and the east portal is Grade II listed . Ammunition was stored near the tunnel during World War II , reusing mine workings. During the 2010s, the tunnel was modified and the track lowered to prepare it for electrification, although in 2016, this plan has been suspended for
3008-477: The town as Cippanhamme : this could refer to a person called Cippa who had his hamm, an enclosure in a river meadow. An alternative theory suggests that the name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ceap , meaning 'market'. The name is recorded variously as Cippanhamm (878), Cepen (1042), Cheppeham (1155), Chippenham (1227), Shippenham (1319) and Chippyngham (1541). In John Speed 's map of Wiltshire (1611),
3072-594: The town to Bristol, Swindon , South Wales and London. The A4 former coach road, A420 and B4069 provide further road links to Bath, Bristol and Oxford . The town is bypassed to the west by the A350 , which links the M4 motorway with Chippenham and nearby towns to the south, such as Melksham , Westbury , Frome , Warminster and Trowbridge before entering Dorset where it terminates in Poole . The A4 national route crosses
3136-413: The town, such as Bird's Marsh , Vincients Wood and Briars Wood. Suburbs include Cepen Park (North & South), Hardenhuish, Monkton, Lowden, Pewsham , Primrose Hill, Englands, Frogwell, Derriads, The Folly, Redland, Queens Crescent, Lackham, Fenway Park and Hill Rise; these loosely correspond to local government wards. The original Buttercross , a stone structure, was erected in c. 1570 and stood at
3200-438: The tunnel in the winter months impeded progress. Once the eastern section had been blasted out, it was cut to form a gothic arch and left unlined. The western section was excavated using picks and shovels and the walls were lined with brick. Over 30 million bricks were used which were manufactured in nearby Chippenham and transported in horse-drawn carts. Horses were used to remove much of the spoil. The restrictions imposed by
3264-468: The tunnel's western portal near Box, Wiltshire which Brunel had designed in a grand classical style – grander than the eastern portal as it is in full view of the London to Bath road . The height of the opening is far in excess of what was required (and indeed reduces once inside), but it gives the feel of a generous celebratory monument to a new form of travel. That height has been further accentuated with
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#17327732605323328-616: The tunnels. In response to the Bristol Blitz , during 1940, Alfred McAlpine developed a fallback aircraft engine factory for use by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (BAC), although it never went into production. BAC used the facility to accommodate the company's experimental department, which was developing an engine to power bombers and the Bristol Beaufighter . The CAD was closed at the end of
3392-564: The unlined section close to the entrance which was prone to frost damage. Some areas of the tunnel remain unlined. GWR franchise rebutted the theory that the rising sun passed through the tunnel on Isambard Brunel's 9 April birthday, finding in 2017 that the sunrise did not shine fully through the tunnel. Librarian C.P. Atkins calculated in 1985 that full illumination through Box Tunnel would occur on 7 April in non-Leap years and on 6 April in Leap years. The Society of Genealogists in 2016 suggested
3456-504: The war but was maintained in operational condition until the 1950s. The sidings were cleared, and saw no further use until the mid-1980s when a museum was opened on the site for a short period. During the post-war years, portions of the ammunition depot were redeveloped for other facilities, including the Central Government War Headquarters , RAF No.1 Signal Unit, Controller Defence Communication Network and
3520-478: The weekly consumption of explosives. Due to the considerable time required for men to enter and exit the workings, blasting took place while they were in the tunnel. This practice and water ingress exceeding the calculated volumes, has been attributed as causing most of the deaths that occurred. About 100 navvies were killed during the tunnel's construction. Additional pumping and drainage were required during and after its construction. Large amounts of water entering
3584-474: The western end. Burge appointed Samuel Yockney as his engineer and manager. Locally based Lewis and Brewer were responsible for the remainder, starting from the eastern side. One of Brunel's personal assistants, William Glennie, was in overall charge until completion. In December 1838, construction started. Work was divided into six sections; access to each was via a 25-foot-diameter (7.6 m) ventilation shaft, which ranged in depth from 70 feet (21 m) at
3648-472: The wood used to build the Yelde Hall indicates that the market hall was built around 1450. The Shambles and Buttercross were built after 1570. The Shambles were destroyed in a fire in 1856 but the Yelde Hall survived. The parish of Chippenham Without encompasses the deserted medieval village of Sheldon, devastated by plague ; all that remains today is Sheldon Manor , Wiltshire's oldest inhabited manor house, dating from 1282. The wool industry took off in
3712-451: Was delayed indefinitely. Download coordinates as: Box Hill, Wiltshire Box Hill is a small village in Wiltshire , England, most notable for its position above Brunel's famous Box Tunnel . It is located on the A4 road just northeast of Box village, approximately 2 miles (3 km) west of the centre of the town of Corsham , and approximately 6 miles (10 km) northeast of
3776-447: Was founded in 1890. Over the years, it played an increasing role in the local economy, becoming deeply involved in agriculture and dairy farming, and for most of the 20th century its department store dominated the lower end of the High Street. However, by the 1960s, the business was facing increasing competition and found it necessary to join forces with other co-operatives, first locally, then nationally, forming The Co-operative Group . In
3840-607: Was governed by a bailiff supported by burgesses. Elected annually by the Town Council , the Mayor is generally appointed to office in May each year, at the "Mayor Making" ceremony. As part of their duties as the first citizen of a town, the Mayor visits organisations, charities and groups representing all parts of the local community, acting as a figurehead to promote goodwill, cultural exchange, trade and commerce. The Mayor also nominates
3904-591: Was recognised. During the 1930s, a proposal to create three Central Ammunition Depots (CADs) was submitted: one in the north ( Longtown, Cumbria ); one in the Midlands ( Nesscliffe , Shropshire); and one in the South of England at Tunnel quarry, Monkton Farleigh and Eastlays Ridge. During the 1930s, Tunnel Quarry was renovated by the Royal Engineers as one of the three major stockpiles. During November 1937,
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#17327732605323968-481: Was so delighted that he reportedly removed a ring from his finger and gave it to the works foreman. On 30 June 1841, the tunnel was opened to traffic with little in the way of ceremony. A special train departed London Paddington and traversed the whole of the GWR to complete the first rail journey to Temple Meads Station in Bristol in about four hours. After the opening, for several months, work continued to finish
4032-477: Was within the parliamentary constituency of North Wiltshire , traditionally a Conservative stronghold, although in the 19th century some Liberal members were elected. Boundary changes for the 2010 general election saw Liberal Democrat candidate Duncan Hames become the Member of Parliament for Chippenham , a newly created constituency formed from parts of three neighbouring constituencies. In 2015, Chippenham
4096-717: Was won for the Conservatives by Michelle Donelan , who held it until 2024 when Sarah Gibson of the Liberal Democrats won the seat, after further significant boundary changes . Chippenham Town Council, which is based at Chippenham Town Hall , is responsible for some public services in the town. For 2020–21 they set the 13th highest council tax of any lowest tier (parish/town) council in England at £262.05 per Band D property, and proposed to increase this to £270.44 for 2021–22. Unlike most town and parish councils,
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