58-557: The Science and Innovation Park is a research and cultural site near Swindon , England. Part of the Science Museum Group , the 545 acres (221 ha) Park hosts a range of research and development activity, filming and photography projects, storage for culture sector partners and other commercial activity. It is the home of the Science Museum Group's National Collections Centre , which holds around 80% of
116-509: A co-operative , raised the funds for this programme of self-improvement and paid the GWR £40 a year for its new home on a site at the heart of the railway village. It was a groundbreaking organisation that transformed the railway's workforce into some of the country's best-educated manual workers. The Mechanics' Institute had the UK's first lending library , and a range of improving lectures, access to
174-443: A knight in the service of Odo of Bayeux , brother of the king . The manors of Westlecot, Walcot, Rodbourne, Moredon and Stratton are also listed; all are now part of Swindon. The Goddard family were lord of the manor from the 16th century for many generations, living at the manor house , sometimes known as The Lawn. Swindon was a small market town , mainly for barter trade , until roughly 1848. This original market area
232-623: A 16% swing from the Conservatives. Will Stone , also Labour, represents Swindon North – which covers the whole of the north of the borough, including Blunsdon and Highworth – after a 19% swing at the same election. Prior to 1997 there was a single seat for Swindon, although much of what is now in Swindon was then part of the Devizes seat. Swindon is a town in northeast Wiltshire, 35 miles (56 km) west-northwest of Reading and
290-556: A Built Up Area Subdivision with a population of 182,441. At the 2021 census, the only area covering most of the town was the Built Up Area, which had a population of 183,638. Excluded from this were the parts of Wichelstowe lying in Wroughton parish, the whole of Stratton St Margaret parish, and northern parts of St Andrews parish. By 2018, Swindon had a concentration of people originating from Saint Helena . After
348-530: A defensible position atop a limestone hill. It is referred to in the 1086 Domesday Book as Suindune, believed to be derived from the Old English words "swine" and "dun" meaning "pig hill" or possibly Sweyn's hill, Sweyn being a Scandinavian name akin to Sven and English swain, meaning a young man. Swindon is recorded in the Domesday Book as a manor in the hundred of Blagrove, Wiltshire . It
406-551: A further twenty years. The Greater London Council withdrew from the Town Development Agreement and the local council continued the development on its own. There was the problem of the Western Development and of Lydiard Park being in the new North Wiltshire district, but this was resolved by a boundary change to take in part of North Wiltshire. Another factor limiting local decision-taking
464-645: A hundred bird and bat boxes together with log piles, hibernacula, beehives, and species-rich grassland provide habitats and homes for reptiles, insects and other wildlife. In a further commitment to biodiversity, 1,000 native trees will be planted annually throughout the 2020s, joining 49,000 trees already planted by the Science Museum Group at the site. Staff offices at the site benefit from solar hot water, while green-roofed bike racks provide space for insects and plants as well as bicycle storage. Dedicated electric car charging points encourage more sustainable transport methods, complementing electric vehicles already in use at
522-583: A population of 209,156 people in the Swindon unitary authority area (including the town's urban area, Highworth , and other nearby parishes), with a 50/50 balance of males and females. By mid-2019, the estimated population of the unitary authority area was 222,193. In 2011, 57.5% of Swindonians identified themselves as Christians , a reduction from 70% in 2001. This was followed by those of no religion (31%), Muslims (1.7%), Sikhs (0.6%), Hindus (1.2%), other (0.5%) and Judaism (0.1%). As of 2021, 46.6% of Swindonians identify themselves as Christians. This
580-555: A predominantly female workforce. David Murray John , Swindon's town clerk from 1938 to 1974, is seen as a pioneering figure in Swindon's post-war regeneration: his last act before retirement was to sign the contract for Swindon's tallest building, which is now named after him. Murray John's successor was David Maxwell Kent, appointed by the Swindon/Highworth Joint Committee in 1973: he had worked closely with Murray John and continued similar policies for
638-475: A property in Britain". Only Warrington had a lower ratio of house prices to household income in 2007, with the average household income in Swindon among the highest in the country. In October 2008, Swindon Council made a controversial move to ban fixed point speed cameras . The move was branded as reckless by some, but by November 2008 Portsmouth , Walsall , and Birmingham councils were also considering
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#1732773015018696-516: A single town. On 1 July 1923, the GWR took over the largely single-track M&SWJR and the line northwards from Swindon Town was diverted to Swindon Junction station, leaving the Town station with only the line south to Andover and Salisbury. The last passenger trains on what had been the SM&;A ran on 10 September 1961, 80 years after the railway's first stretch opened. During the first half of
754-485: A strong sense of Polish identity". Clout%27s Wood Clout's Wood ( grid reference SU137796 ) is an 11.78 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire , notified in 1951. The site is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust . 51°30′55″N 1°48′14″W / 51.51516°N 1.80396°W / 51.51516; -1.80396 This article about
812-627: A theatre and various other activities, such as ambulance classes and xylophone lessons. A former institute secretary formed the New Swindon Co-operative Society in 1853 which, after a schism in the society's membership, spawned the New Swindon Industrial Society, which ran a retail business from a stall in the market at the institute. The institute also nurtured pioneering trades unionists and encouraged local democracy. When tuberculosis hit
870-409: Is RAF Lyneham , about 10 miles (16 km) west southwest of Swindon town centre. The weather station's elevation is 145 metres (476 ft) in a rural setting, compared to the typical 100 metres (330 ft) encountered around Swindon town centre, so is likely marginally cooler throughout the year. The absolute maximum is 34.9 °C (94.8 °F), recorded during August 1990. In an average year
928-503: Is dominated by the chalk hills of the Wiltshire Downs to the south and east. The Old Town stands on a hill of Purbeck and Portland stone; this was quarried from Roman times until the 1950s. The area that was known as New Swindon is made up of mostly Kimmeridge clay with outcrops of Corrallian clay in the areas of Penhill and Pinehurst. Oxford clay makes up the rest of the borough. The River Ray rises at Wroughton and forms much of
986-424: Is followed by those of no religion (40.5%), Muslims (2.7%), Sikhs (0.6%), Hindus (2.5%), other (0.6%) and Judaism (0.1%). In 2015, Public Health England found that 70.4% of the population was either overweight or obese with a BMI greater than 25. In 2011, the area of the town was 46.2 km (17.8 sq mi) and there were 3,949 inhabitants per square kilometre (10,230/sq mi). In 2011, 16.7% of
1044-555: Is on top of the hill in central Swindon, now known as Old Town. The Industrial Revolution was responsible for an acceleration of Swindon's growth. Construction of the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1810 and the North Wilts Canal in 1819 brought trade to the area, and Swindon's population started to grow. Between 1841 and 1842, Isambard Kingdom Brunel 's Swindon Works was built for the repair and maintenance of locomotives on
1102-532: Is slightly closer, being around 5 miles (8 km) away. Swindon is within a landlocked county and is a considerable distance from any coastline. The nearest section of coast on the English Channel is near Christchurch, 56 miles (90 km) due south. Meanwhile, the eastern limit of the Bristol Channel , just north of Weston-super-mare , lies 53 miles (85 km) to the west. The landscape
1160-472: Is the Science Museum Group’s most energy efficient building yet, with sector-leading innovations in low energy intensity collections care. A 'fabric first' design approach maximised the performance of the facility’s building materials to improve energy efficiency while reducing energy needs, operational costs and carbon emissions. The sustainable choice of a highly insulated and airtight facility allows
1218-758: The Great Western Railway (GWR). The GWR built a small railway village to house some of its workers. The Steam Railway Museum and English Heritage , including the English Heritage Archive , now occupy part of the old works. In the village were the GWR Medical Fund Clinic at Park House and its hospital, both on Faringdon Road, and the 1892 health centre in Milton Road, which housed clinics, a pharmacy, laundries, baths, Victorian Turkish baths and swimming pools,
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#17327730150181276-661: The Mechanics' Institute . Lydiard Park has hosted festivals such as BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend , while the Swindon Mela, an all-day celebration of South Indian arts and culture, attracts up to 10,000 visitors a year. The ancient Ridgeway , known as Britain's oldest road, runs a few miles to Swindon's south, with Avebury , the largest megalithic stone circle in the world, and Uffington White Horse , Britain's oldest white horse figure, also nearby. Wiltshire's only professional football club Swindon Town F.C. , have played in
1334-633: The Midland & South Western Junction Railway , which set out to join the London & South Western Railway with the Midland Railway at Cheltenham . The Swindon, Marlborough & Andover had planned to tunnel under the hill on which Swindon's Old Town stands but the money ran out and the railway ran into Swindon Town railway station , off Devizes Road in the Old Town, skirting the new town to
1392-612: The Premier League in the 1993/94 season and won a major trophy, securing a famous giant-killing victory over Arsenal in the 1969 League Cup final . They currently play in League Two at the 15,000-seat County Ground in the town centre. Other sports in the town include Swindon Wildcats Ice Hockey and five-time British speedway champions the Swindon Robins . The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Swindon sat in
1450-399: The 16th to the 20th centuries, Trade Literature, exhibition catalogues, British patents from 1617 to 1992 as well as over 85,000 books focussing on the history and social aspects of science, technology and medicine. The named archive collections include personal papers, photographs, glass plate negatives, company records and technical drawings. The Science Museum Library was founded in 1883 as
1508-448: The 20th century, the railway works was the town's largest employer and one of the biggest in the country, employing more than 14,500 workers. Alfred Williams (1877–1930) wrote about his life as a hammerman at the works. The works' decline started in 1960, when it rolled out Evening Star , the last steam engine to be built in the UK. The works lost its locomotive building role and took on rolling stock maintenance for British Rail . In
1566-619: The Imperial College & Science Museum Libraries. Due to the increasing demand for space in South Kensington, about 85% of the collections and all of the archives moved to a specially adapted library building at Wroughton in 2007. By 2014, almost all of the library had been moved to Wroughton. Researchers can apply to have items brought to the Dana Research Centre and Library in South Kensington. Amongst
1624-495: The National Collections Centre is to conserve and manage the collections of the Science Museum Group. Over 300,000 objects are housed at the site in former aircraft hangars and a modern purpose-built collection management facility. The facility is 90m wide and 300m long, and has conservation laboratories, research areas and photography studios alongside a storage hall with 30,000 metres of shelving to house
1682-574: The Public Realm. In August 2019, a secondary school in the town was at the centre of a ' county lines ' drug supply investigation by Wiltshire Police, with 40 pupils suspected of being involved in the supply of cannabis and cocaine, and girls as young as 14 being coerced into sexual activity in exchange for drugs. The local council was created in 1974 as the Borough of Thamesdown, out of the areas of Swindon Borough and Highworth Rural District. It
1740-880: The Science Library of the South Kensington Museum. It was formed of collections from the South Kensington Educational Library and the library of the Museum of Practical Geology . In 1907 it moved to the Royal College of Science building. When the Science Museum gained its independence in 1909, the Science Library became its responsibility. In 1992 the Library joined with Imperial College London to form
1798-463: The Science and Innovation Park. Recycled plastic road materials provide sustainable surfaces for access roads and the service yard, aiding drainage and reducing carbon emissions. Hemp and lime have been combined to create a low-energy, humidity-controlled Hemcrete store providing a carefully managed space for some of the most vulnerable objects in the collection. The new collections management facility
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1856-528: The UK's first lending library and a 'cradle-to-grave' healthcare centre that was later used as a blueprint for the NHS. Swindon's railway heritage can be primarily seen today with the grade 2 listed Railway Village and STEAM Museum . The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet is housed in the renovated former works and the Brunel Shopping Centre is one of several places in Swindon that bear the name of
1914-635: The borough's western boundary, joining the Thames which defines the northern boundary, and the source of which is located in nearby Kemble, Gloucestershire . The River Cole and its tributaries flow northeastward from the town and form the northeastern boundary. Swindon has an oceanic climate ( Cfb in the Köppen climate classification ), like the vast majority of the British Isles, with cool winters and warm summers. The nearest official weather station
1972-451: The collection. Access by researchers to objects can be requested by appointment. The facility will open to public tours and school visits in late 2024. Objects stored at the centre include: The Science Museum Library & Archives are also held at the National Collections Centre. They contain original scientific, technical and medical works from the last 500 years. The printed collections include rare books and first editions, journals from
2030-468: The dentist extracted more than 2,000 teeth. From the opening in 1892 of the health centre, a doctor could also prescribe a haircut or even a bath. The cradle-to-grave extent of this service was later used as a blueprint for the NHS . The Mechanics' Institute, formed in 1844, moved into a building that looked rather like a church and included a covered market, on 1 May 1855. The New Swindon Improvement Company,
2088-507: The east of Bristol . The Cotswolds lie just to the town's north and the North Wessex Downs to its south. Recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Suindune , the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1843 transformed it from a small market town of 2,500 into a thriving railway hub that would become one of the largest railway engineering complexes in the world at its peak. This brought with it pioneering amenities such as
2146-717: The end of World War II, Polish refugees were temporarily housed in barracks at RAF Fairford , about 25 km (16 mi) to the north. Around 1950, some settled in Scotland and others in Swindon rather than stay in the barracks or hostels they were offered. The 2001 UK Census found that most of the Polish-born people had stayed or returned after serving with British forces during World War II. Swindon and Nottingham were parts of this settlement. Data from that census showed that 566 Swindonians were Polish-born. Notes to those data read: "The Polish Resettlement Act of 1947 , which
2204-422: The environmental conditions needed for the collection to be maintained with minimal energy use. Solar photovoltaic panels on the roof meet part of the site’s electricity needs, with biomass boilers providing heating for dehumidification. Limiting access points to the building, the inclusion of a loading bay airlock and the use of intelligent LED lighting all further reduce the facility’s energy demands. Rainwater at
2262-404: The facility is captured to create a large wetland area encircled by Clout's Wood , a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Science and Innovation Park is regularly used for research and development, films and television, storage for other culture sector partners and testing of equipment for new technology and energy projects. Inserts for the television series The Grand Tour were filmed on
2320-538: The famous engineer generally acknowledged with bringing the railways to the town. Despite the subsequent decline and closure of its railway works, Swindon was one of the fastest growing towns in Europe post-war as its economy diversified, attracting large international companies, who made use of its burgeoning population and strategic transport links. Major venues in the town include the Wyvern Theatre and
2378-521: The government announced its intention to sell the building. The Science Museum Group received £40m from the government to develop and create a high-quality accessible facility for the management of the collection at the site in Wroughton. In 2018, the project to create a new purpose-built facility to care for the collection began. It was completed in 2021 and is now the Science Museum Group’s primary collections management facility. The primary role of
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2436-766: The group's collection. The Science Museum took ownership of the 545-acre former RAF Wroughton airfield in 1979, to be used as a storage facility for the museum's largest objects. In 2007 the collection of the Science Museum Library and Archives was also relocated to new facilities at the site. The Science Museum Group, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum had previously used Blythe House in London as storage, but had to move out after
2494-679: The late 1970s, much of the works closed and the rest followed in 1986. The community centre in the railway village was originally the barrack accommodation for railway employees of the GWR. The building became the Railway Museum in the 1960s, until the opening of the STEAM Museum in the 2000s. The Second World War saw an influx of new industries as part of the war effort; Vickers-Armstrong making aircraft at Stratton, and Plessey at Cheney Manor producing electrical components. By 1960, Plessey had become Swindon's biggest employer, with
2552-496: The library and archives holdings are: In April 2021 the Science Museum Group announced that it is targeting to achieve overall Net Zero / Carbon Neutrality by 2033. The Science and Innovation Park hosts one of the UK's largest solar farms, completed in 2016, which is capable of generating close to 50GWh of energy per year, three times more than that consumed by the Science Museum Group as a whole. The Park contains large open grasslands and 30 hectares of native woodlands. More than
2610-518: The move. In 2001, construction began on Priory Vale , the third and final instalment in Swindon's 'Northern Expansion' project, which began with Abbey Meads and continued at St Andrew's Ridge. In 2002, the New Swindon Company was formed with the remit of regenerating the town centre, to improve Swindon's regional status. The main areas targeted were Union Square, The Promenade, The Hub, Swindon Central, North Star Village, The Campus, and
2668-631: The new town, the Mechanics' Institute persuaded the industrial pioneers of North Wiltshire to agree that the railway's former employees should continue to receive medical attention from the doctors of the GWR Medical Society Fund, which the institute had played a role in establishing and funding. Swindon's 'other' railway, the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway , merged with the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway to form
2726-499: The population of Swindon were non-White British compared with 15.4% in the surrounding borough. There was also little difference between the percentages of Black and Asian residents. Swindon is one of the most ethnically diverse towns in South West England : 4.6% of the population registered themselves as 'Other White' and 2.5% of the population was either mixed race or of another ethnicity. There are several definitions of
2784-432: The same distance east-northeast of Bristol 'as the crow flies'. The town is also 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Oxford , 65 miles (105 km) south-southeast of Birmingham , 71 miles (114 km) west of London and 60 miles (97 km) east of Cardiff. Swindon town centre is also equidistant from the county boundaries of Berkshire and Gloucestershire, both being 8 miles (13 km) away. The border with Oxfordshire
2842-577: The seats up for election in each of those years; beginning in 2026, the whole council will be elected every four years. Labour gained control of the council from the Conservatives at the 2023 election , and increased their majority in 2024 . Swindon is represented in the national parliament by two MPs. Heidi Alexander (Labour) was elected for the Swindon South seat in July 2024 with
2900-475: The site's former airfield roads from 2016 to 2019. Swindon Swindon ( / ˈ s w ɪ n d ən / ) is a large town in Wiltshire , England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located in South West England , Swindon lies on the M4 corridor , 71 miles (114km) to the west of London and 36 miles (57 km) to
2958-435: The town for statistical purposes. The smallest extent is the former unparished area , now covered by the parishes of West Swindon , Central Swindon North , South Swindon , and Nythe, Eldene and Liden ; thus it omits suburbs to the east and north, namely the parishes of Covingham , Stratton St Margaret and Haydon Wick . At the 2011 census, the population of the unparished area was 122,642. The 2011 census also recognised
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#17327730150183016-658: The warmest day should reach 28.7 °C (83.7 °F) and 10.3 days should register a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above. The absolute minimum is −16.0 °C (3.2 °F), recorded in January 1982, and in an average year 45.2 nights of air frost can be expected. Sunshine, at 1,565 hours a year, is typical for inland parts of Southern England, although significantly higher than most areas further north. Annual rainfall averages slightly under 720 mm (28 in) per year, with 123 days reporting over 1 mm (0.039 in) of rain. The 2011 census recorded
3074-550: The west, intersecting with the GWR at Rushey Platt and heading north for Cirencester , Cheltenham and the LMS , whose 'Midland Red' livery the M&;SWJR adopted. During the second half of the 19th century, Swindon New Town grew around the main line between London and Bristol . In 1900, the original market town, Old Swindon, merged with its new neighbour at the bottom of the hill to become
3132-420: Was almost opposite. From 1871, GWR workers had a small amount deducted from their weekly pay and put into a healthcare fund; GWR doctors could prescribe them or their family members medicines or send them for medical treatment. In 1878 the fund began providing artificial limbs made by craftsmen from the carriage and wagon works, and nine years later opened its first dental surgery. In his first few months in post,
3190-501: Was designed to provide help and support to people who wished to settle here, covered about 190,000 people ... at the time Britain did not recognise many of the professional [qualifications] gained overseas ... [but] many did find work after the war; some went down the mines, some worked on the land or in steelworks. Housing was more of a problem and many Poles were forced to live in barracks previously used for POWs ... The first generation took pains to ensure that their children grew up with
3248-561: Was not initially called Swindon, because the borough covers a larger area than the town; it was renamed as the Borough of Swindon in 1997. The borough became a unitary authority on 1 April 1997, following a review by the Local Government Commission for England . The town is therefore no longer under the auspices of Wiltshire Council . Council elections are held in three out of every four years, with one-third of
3306-582: Was one of the larger manors, recorded as having 27 households and a rent value of £10 14s, which was divided among five landlords. Before the Battle of Hastings the Swindon estate was owned by an Anglo-Saxon thane called Leofgeat. After the Norman Conquest , Swindon was split into five holdings: the largest was held between Miles Crispin and Odin the Chamberlain, and the second by Wadard ,
3364-466: Was the continuing role of Wiltshire County Council in the administration of Swindon. Together with like-minded councils, a campaign was launched to bring an updated form of county borough status to Swindon. This was successful in 1997 with the formation of Swindon Borough Council , covering the areas of the former Thamesdown and the former Highworth Rural District Council. In February 2008, The Times named Swindon as one of "The 20 best places to buy
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