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102-461: The Village Pump Festival is a folk music festival that takes place near Trowbridge , England. It has its roots 54 years ago in a barn at the Lamb Inn, Trowbridge, and later moved a few miles outside the town to Stowford Manor Farm at Farleigh Hungerford . The music covers a variety of genres from folk and roots to blues , celtic and Ceilidh with a variety of other entertainment including

204-401: A World Heritage Site , recognising its international cultural significance. Between 1991 and 2000, Bath was the scene of a series of rapes committed by an unidentified man dubbed the " Batman rapist ". The attacker remains at large and is the subject of Britain's longest-running serial rape investigation. He is said to have a tights fetish , have a scar below his bottom lip and resides in

306-855: A Community Area Plan in 2004, to guide future development. In the early 1990s the supermarket chain Tesco moved from St Stephen's Place to a site adjoining the A361 on County Way, and their former site remained dormant for a decade. The building was demolished but a pile of rubble, nicknamed 'Mount Crushmore' by local media, remained. Legal & General acquired the land and construction of St Stephen's Place Leisure Park began in 2012. A seven-screen Odeon cinema and Nando's restaurant opened in October 2013. A Premier Inn and food outlets including Frankie and Benny's and Prezzo followed in 2014. The former Usher's brewery site has also undergone redevelopment over

408-528: A centre for woollen cloth production from the 14th century. Thus before the start of the Tudor period , the towns of south-west Wiltshire stood out from the rest of the county with all the signs of increasing wealth and prosperity during the period of trade recovery led by exports begun under Yorkist Edward IV and, still more, during expansion under Henry VII , when England's annual woollen exports increased from some 60,000 to some 80,000 cloths of assize. During

510-504: A family field, with puppetry and story telling . The event arose from the folk club of the same name founded in Trowbridge in 1970 and the annual festival held there until 1984, when it moved to Stowford Manor Farm. Prior to 2010, all events took place in marquees and the compact site includes camping, car parking, three separate stages plus children's tent, two beer tents and a myriad of trade stalls selling items from all over

612-523: A large Victorian building, is a performance and exhibition venue and is also used by community groups. At Wiltshire College the Arc Theatre is used by students and local groups. There is a concert hall at Wiltshire Music Centre in neighbouring Bradford-on-Avon . Trowbridge is part of the historic West Country Carnival circuit. There is an annual multi-day folk music festival called Trowbridge Festival , formerly Trowbridge Village Pump Festival;

714-417: A large degree sought to better accommodate the motor car, including the idea of a traffic tunnel underneath the centre of Bath. Though criticised by conservationists, some parts of the plan were implemented. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was recognised that conservation of historic buildings was inadequate, leading to more care and reuse of buildings and open spaces. In 1987, the city was selected by UNESCO as

816-540: A number of years, with Newland Homes building town centre flats incorporating the frontage of the Usher's building. In April 2009, building work started on one of the town's biggest brownfield sites, the former Usher's bottling plant. This was developed into a Sainsbury's supermarket, a public square and housing. There is much of architectural interest in Trowbridge, including many of the old buildings associated with

918-402: A place which representatives from Swindon and Salisbury, among others, could reach and return home from in one day. Trowbridge fulfilled this criterion by virtue of its railway connections and thus was chosen as the county town, further reinforced by the construction of the county hall in 1939. The brewing company Ushers of Trowbridge opened in 1824, and developed the brewery in the town. This

1020-460: A practice in the city in 1668. He was interested in the curative properties of the waters, and he wrote A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water in 1676. It brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to the attention of the country, and the aristocracy arrived to partake in them. Several areas of the city were developed in

1122-630: A royal borough ( burh ) of Alfred the Great , and was reformed into a municipal borough in 1835. It has formed part of the county of Somerset since 878, when ceded to Wessex , having previously been in Mercia (the River Avon had acted as the border between the two kingdoms since 628). However, Bath was made a county borough in 1889, independent of the newly created administrative county and Somerset County Council . Bath became part of Avon when

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1224-404: A single channel. Periodic flooding, which shortened the life of many buildings in the lowest part of the city, was normal until major flood control works were completed in the 1970s. Kensington Meadows is an area of mixed woodland and open meadow next to the river which has been designated as a local nature reserve . Water bubbling up from the ground as geothermal springs originates as rain on

1326-605: A thousand people and donated a school, almshouses, and the Trowbridge Town Hall to the town. David Stratton , the film critic was born in Trowbridge in 1939. He founded the Melksham and District Film Society before emigrating to Australia in 1963, where he ran the Sydney Film Festival for 17 years, as well as presenting the film review shows The Movie Show on SBS and At The Movies on

1428-470: A village. In the 1086 Domesday Book the village of Straburg, as Trowbridge was then known, was recorded as having 24 households, well endowed with land, particularly arable ploughlands, and rendering 8 pounds sterling to its feudal lord a year. Its feudal lord was an Anglo-Saxon named Brictric , who was the largest landowner in Wiltshire. The first mention of Trowbridge Castle was in 1139 when it

1530-555: Is a city in Somerset , England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths . At the 2021 Census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon , 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Bristol . The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and was later added to the transnational World Heritage Site known as the " Great Spa Towns of Europe " in 2021. Bath

1632-485: Is also elected. The coat of arms includes a depiction of the city wall , and two silver stripes representing the River Avon and the hot springs. The sword of St. Paul is a link to Bath Abbey. The supporters, a lion and a bear, stand on a bed of acorns , a link to Bladud , the subject of the Legend of Bath. The knight's helmet indicates a municipality and the crown is that of King Edgar (referencing his coronation at

1734-588: Is also the largest city and settlement in Somerset. The city became a spa with the Latin name Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis ") c. 60 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although hot springs were known even before then. Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre; the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In

1836-563: Is composed of 21 councillors . County Hall in Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, is the administrative centre for Wiltshire Council , a unitary authority created in April 2009 which replaced both West Wiltshire District Council and the former Wiltshire County Council , also headquartered at County Hall since 1940. Trowbridge civil parish is divided into seven electoral divisions, each electing one member of Wiltshire Council. Trowbridge

1938-472: Is now home to offices; straddling the nearby River Biss is the "Handle House", formerly used for drying and storage of teazles used to raise the nap of cloth. This is one of very few such buildings still known to exist in the United Kingdom. In its place a bedding industry developed, initially using wool cast off from the mills; the company now known as Airsprung Furniture Group was started in

2040-560: Is the county town of Wiltshire , England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset . The town lies 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Bath , 31 miles (50 km) south-west of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) south-east of Bristol . The parish had a population of 37,169 in 2021. Long a market town , the Kennet and Avon canal to the north of Trowbridge played an instrumental part in

2142-560: Is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the southwest. Bath is fully enclosed by green belt as a part of a wider environmental and planning policy first designated in the late 1950s, and this extends into much of the surrounding district and beyond, helping to maintain local green space, prevent further urban sprawl and unplanned expansion towards Bristol and Bradford-on-Avon , as well as protecting smaller villages in between. Suburbs of

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2244-556: Is within the South West Wiltshire parliamentary constituency, which has been represented by Andrew Murrison ( Conservative ) since its formation in 2010. The River Biss enters Trowbridge from the southeast, where it flows through Biss Meadows, managed as a country park. In the north of the town it is joined by the Lambrok Stream, then continues north to join the River Avon near Staverton . Northwest of

2346-815: The 2017 general election and retained her seat at the 2019 general election. Howlett had replaced the retiring Liberal Democrat Don Foster at the 2015 general election . Foster's election was a notable result of the 1992 general election , as Chris Patten , the previous Member (and Cabinet Minister ) played a major part, as Chairman of the Conservative Party , in re-electing the government of John Major , but failed to defend his marginal seat. The fifteen electoral wards of Bath are: Bathwick , Combe Down , Kingsmead , Lambridge, Lansdown , Moorlands, Newbridge , Odd Down , Oldfield Park, Southdown, Twerton , Walcot , Westmoreland , Weston and Widcombe & Lyncombe . These wards are co-extensive with

2448-579: The ABC . Nick Blackwell , professional boxer and former British middleweight champion, is from Trowbridge, as are footballer Nathan Dyer (who played for Leicester City in the 2015-16 season when they won the Premier League), disgraced snooker player Stephen Lee , and Daniel Talbot , winner of the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in a time of 37.47sec – the third fastest time in history. The Oliver Twins , who created

2550-745: The Bath Blitz , more than 400 people were killed, and more than 19,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. Houses in Royal Crescent , Circus and Paragon were burnt out along with the Assembly Rooms . A 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) high explosive bomb landed on the east side of Queen Square , resulting in houses on the south side being damaged and the Francis Hotel losing 24 metres (79 ft) of its frontage. The buildings have all been restored although there are still signs of

2652-518: The COVID-19 pandemic . In July 2022 a fundraiser weekend was held at the Lamb Inn, Trowbridge. In July 2023, the festival returned for a weekend at a new site Greenhill Fields, Southwick nr. Trowbridge. Moonshine Main Stage: [REDACTED] Media related to Village Pump Folk Festival at Wikimedia Commons Trowbridge Trowbridge ( / ˈ t r oʊ b r ɪ dʒ / TROH -brij )

2754-536: The Dizzy series of games amongst others, and in 1990 founded Interactive Studios (later Blitz Games), grew up in Trowbridge. A building at the Clarendon Academy is named after the brothers. Dick Lucas , founding member and main vocalist of punk rock band Subhumans was born in Trowbridge. Bath, Somerset Bath ( RP : / b ɑː θ / ; local pronunciation: [ba(ː)θ] )

2856-576: The Elizabethan era , when the city experienced a revival as a spa . The baths were improved and the city began to attract the aristocracy. A Royal charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1590 confirmed city status . James Montagu, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1608, spent considerable sums in restoring Bath Abbey and actively supported the Baths themselves, aware that the 'towne liveth wholly by them'. In 1613, perhaps at his behest, Queen Anne visited

2958-608: The Hwicce , perhaps using the walled area as its precinct. Nennius , a 9th-century historian, mentions a "Hot Lake" in the land of the Hwicce along the River Severn , and adds "It is surrounded by a wall, made of brick and stone, and men may go there to bathe at any time, and every man can have the kind of bath he likes. If he wants, it will be a cold bath; and if he wants a hot bath, it will be hot". Bede described hot baths in

3060-480: The Mendip Hills . The rain percolates through limestone aquifers to a depth of between 9,000 to 14,000 ft (2,700 to 4,300 m) where geothermal energy raises the water's temperature to between 64 and 96 °C (approximately 147–205 °F). Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone. Hot water at a temperature of 46 °C (115 °F) rises here at

3162-550: The Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century. A long barrow site believed to be from the Early Bronze Age Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down . Solsbury Hill overlooking the current city was an Iron Age hill fort and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one. Archaeological evidence shows that

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3264-593: The Stothert & Pitt factory site, and the riverside Bath Quays office and business development. In 2021, Bath become part of a second UNESCO World Heritage Site, a group of spa towns across Europe known as the " Great Spas of Europe ". This makes it one of the only places to be formally recognised twice as a World Heritage site. Since 1996, the city has had a single tier of local government — Bath and North East Somerset Council . Bath had long been an ancient borough , having that status since 878 when it became

3366-529: The Stuart period, and more building took place during Georgian times in response to the increasing number of visitors who required accommodation. Architects John Wood the Elder and his son laid out the new quarters in streets and squares, the identical façades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and classical decorum. Much of the creamy gold Bath stone , a type of limestone used for construction in

3468-730: The Victoria Art Gallery , the Museum of East Asian Art , the Herschel Museum of Astronomy , Fashion Museum , and the Holburne Museum . The city has two universities – the University of Bath and Bath Spa University – with Bath College providing further education . Sporting clubs from the city include Bath Rugby and Bath City . The hills in the locality such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from

3570-588: The Wansdyke district and therefore includes a wider area than the city (the 'North East Somerset' element) including Keynsham which is home to many of the council's offices, though the council meets at the Guildhall in Bath. Bath was returned to the ceremonial county of Somerset in 1996, though as B&NES is a unitary authority, it is not part of the area covered by Somerset County Council. Bath City Council

3672-416: The non-metropolitan county was created in 1974, resulting in its abolition as a county borough, and instead became a non-metropolitan district with borough status . With the abolition of Avon in 1996, the non-metropolitan district and borough were abolished too, and Bath has since been part of the unitary authority district of Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES). The unitary district included also

3774-456: The unreformed House of Commons , as an ancient parliamentary borough. From 1832 until 1918 it elected two MPs and then was reduced to one. Historically the constituency covered only the city of Bath; however, it was enlarged into some outlying areas between 1997 and 2010. The constituency since 2010 once again covers exactly the city of Bath and is currently represented by Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse who beat Conservative Ben Howlett at

3876-562: The 130 years to 1951, compared to a considerably larger increase in the population of the country as a whole. From 1951 to 2011, the population increased by 133%. Coinciding with this increase, a considerable conversion of arable fields and some riverside meadows to residential estates took place. According to the census in 2011, the ethnic breakdown of the population of Trowbridge parish was: White 94.8%, Mixed/multiple ethnic groups 1.9%, Asian/Asian British 1.5%, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British 1.1%, Other ethnic group 0.8%. The population of

3978-414: The 13th century. Around 1200, the first mayor was appointed. By the 15th century, Bath's abbey church was dilapidated and Oliver King , Bishop of Bath and Wells, decided to rebuild it on a smaller scale in 1500. The new church was completed just a few years before Bath Priory was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII . The abbey church became derelict before being restored as the city's parish church in

4080-476: The 17th century the production of woollen cloth became increasingly industrialised. However, mechanisation was resisted by workers in traditional trades; there were riots in 1785 and 1792, and again in the era of Luddism (1811–1816) owing to the introduction of the flying shuttle . Thomas Helliker , a shearman's apprentice, became one of the martyrs of the Industrial Revolution in 1803 when he

4182-492: The 17th century, claims were made for the curative properties of water from the springs, and Bath became popular as a spa town in the Georgian era . Georgian architecture , crafted from Bath stone , includes the Royal Crescent , Circus , Pump Room , and the Assembly Rooms , where Beau Nash presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in 1761. Many of the streets and squares were laid out by John Wood,

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4284-654: The 2021 Census, the population of the "built-up area" – consisting of Trowbridge, Staverton and Hilperton parishes – was 43,744. Trowbridge railway station was opened in 1848 on the Westbury – Bradford-on-Avon section of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway . Today this line forms part of both the Wessex Main Line (Bristol–Westbury–Southampton) and the Heart of Wessex Line (Bristol–Westbury–Weymouth), while

4386-480: The 2024 edition was held at Southwick , near Trowbridge. Methodism was introduced to the town by local evangelist Joanna Turner in the 18th century. Trowbridge was the birthplace of Sir Isaac Pitman in 1813, developer of the Pitman system of shorthand writing, who has several memorial plaques. Matthew Hutton (later archbishop of Canterbury) was the town's rector from 1726 to 1730. The poet George Crabbe held

4488-585: The 20th century, although Trowbridge's West of England cloth maintained a reputation for excellent quality until the end. The last mill, Salter's Home Mill, closed in 1982 and is now the home of Boswell's Café and Trowbridge Museum and Art Gallery, integrated into the Shires Shopping Centre . The museum portrays the history of woollen cloth production in the town; the displays include a rare Spinning Jenny , one of only five remaining worldwide. There are also working looms on display. Clark's Mill

4590-750: The Abbey). A mural crown , indicating a city , is alternatively used instead of the helmet and Edgar's crown. The Arms bear the motto "Aqvae Svlis", the Roman name for Bath in Latin script; although not on the Arms, the motto "Floreat Bathon" is sometimes used ("may Bath flourish" in Latin). Bath and North East Somerset Council has established the Bath City Forum, comprising B&NES councillors representing wards in Bath and up to 13 co-opted members drawn from

4692-539: The Bath area or knows it very well. He has also been linked to the unsolved murder of Melanie Hall , which occurred in the city in 1996. Although the offender's DNA is known and several thousand men in Bath were DNA tested, the attacker continues to evade police. Since 2000, major developments have included the Thermae Bath Spa , the SouthGate shopping centre, the residential Western Riverside project on

4794-468: The Clarendon Academy , the John of Gaunt School and St Augustine's Catholic College . All of the secondary schools also operate their own sixth forms . Larkrise School is a special school for children aged 3 to 19. Wiltshire College has one of its four campuses in Trowbridge offering a range of vocational courses for school-leavers. Trowbridge Cottage Hospital , now Trowbridge Community Hospital

4896-599: The Elder , and in the 18th century the city became fashionable and the population grew. Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century. Further building was undertaken in the 19th century and following the Bath Blitz in World War II. Bath became part of the county of Avon in 1974, and, following Avon's abolition in 1996, has been the principal centre of Bath and North East Somerset . Bath has over 6 million yearly visitors, making it one of ten English cities visited most by overseas tourists . Attractions include

4998-481: The UK. Three of the springs feed the thermal baths. Along with the rest of South West England , Bath has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are

5100-500: The Village Pump Folk Festival into voluntary liquidation. The 2017 festival was initially cancelled, but later a smaller festival was planned. Another group of volunteers, including several previous committee members, organised a 2018 festival at Stowford Manor Farm. In 2019 the organisation was unable to meet Wiltshire Council's requirements for the event licence, and in 2020 the festival could not be held due to

5202-574: The abolition of Abbey ward, the merger of Lyncombe and Widcombe wards, the creation of Moorlands ward, and the replacement of Oldfield with Oldfield Park, as well as considerable changes to boundaries affecting all wards. Bath is in the Avon Valley and is surrounded by limestone hills as it is near the southern edge of the Cotswolds , a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , and the Mendip Hills rise around 7 miles (11 km) south of

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5304-614: The appearance of parliamentary forces the gates were thrown open and the city surrendered. It became a significant post for the Western Association army under William Waller . Bath was retaken by the royalists in July 1643 following the Battle of Lansdowne and occupied for two years until 1645. Luckily, the city was spared the destruction of property and starvation of its inhabitants unlike nearby Bristol and Gloucester . During

5406-587: The bishop's palace beside it. New baths were built around the three springs. Later bishops returned the episcopal seat to Wells while retaining the name Bath in the title, Bishop of Bath and Wells . St John's Hospital was founded around 1180 by Bishop Reginald Fitz Jocelin and is among the oldest almshouses in England. The 'hospital of the baths' was built beside the hot springs of the Cross Bath , for their health-giving properties and to provide shelter for

5508-514: The bombing. A postwar review of inadequate housing led to the clearance and redevelopment of areas of the city in a postwar style, often at variance with the local Georgian style. In the 1950s, the nearby villages of Combe Down , Twerton and Weston were incorporated into the city to enable the development of housing, much of it council housing . In 1965, town planner Colin Buchanan published Bath: A Planning and Transport Study , which to

5610-461: The built-up area, which includes Staverton and Hilperton parishes, was 39,409 in 2011 and was estimated to have grown to 43,719 by mid-2020. In 2018 the Office for National Statistics estimated the population of the larger "community area" at 45,822, making Trowbridge the most populous area in Wiltshire (excluding Swindon), with Chippenham close behind in second place and Salisbury third. At

5712-634: The city bordering the green belt include Batheaston , Bathford , Bathampton , the University of Bath campus, Ensleigh, Twerton , Upper Weston , Odd Down , and Combe Down . Parts of the Cotswolds AONB southern extent overlap the green belt north of the city, with other nearby landscape features and facilities within the green belt including the River Avon, Kennet and Avon Canal, Bath Racecourse , Bath Golf Club, Bathampton Down , Bathampton Meadow Nature Reserve, Bristol and Bath Railway Path,

5814-452: The city's social life from 1704 until his death in 1761, drew up a code of behaviour for public entertainments. Bath had become perhaps the most fashionable of the rapidly developing British spa towns, attracting many notable visitors such as the wealthy London bookseller Andrew Millar and his wife, who both made long visits. In 1816, it was described as "a seat of amusement and dissipation", where "scenes of extravagance in this receptacle of

5916-524: The city, except that Newbridge includes also two parishes beyond the city boundary. These wards return a total of 28 councillors to Bath and North East Somerset Council ; all except two wards return two councillors (Moorlands and Oldfield Park return one each). The most recent elections were held on 4 May 2023 and all wards returned Liberal Democrats except for Lambridge and Westmoreland which returned Green Party and independent councillors respectively. Boundary changes enacted from 2 May 2019 included

6018-527: The city, was obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines owned by Ralph Allen (1694–1764). Allen, to advertise the quality of his quarried limestone, commissioned the elder John Wood to build a country house on his Prior Park estate between the city and the mines. Allen was responsible for improving and expanding the postal service in western England, for which he held the contract for more than forty years. Although not fond of politics, Allen

6120-615: The city. The hills that surround and make up the city have a maximum altitude of 781 feet (238 metres) on the Lansdown plateau. Bath has an area of 11 square miles (28 square kilometres). The floodplain of the Avon has an altitude of about 59 ft (18 m) above sea level , although the city centre is at an elevation of around 25 metres (82 ft) above sea level. The river, once an unnavigable series of braided streams broken up by swamps and ponds, has been managed by weirs into

6222-726: The communities of the city. The first meeting of the Forum was held on 13 October 2015, at the Guildhall, where the first chair and vice-chair were elected. In 2021, this was re-launched as the Bath Area Forum. Bath is one of the oldest extant parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom, being in continuous existence since the Model Parliament of 1295. Before the Reform Act 1832 , Bath elected two members to

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6324-402: The company shareholders voted to suspend the event. Many of the original members decided to resurrect the festival under a new name. The 2012 Village Pump Folk Festival took place at White Horse Country Park, Westbury on 20–22 July 2012 with Show of Hands as festival patrons. It was covered by FromeFM . Following disappointing ticket sales in 2015 and 2016, the organisers decided to take

6426-414: The company that ran the festival, did not find out until late January 2010 that the online transaction provider had sold on that part of their business to another company. The new owner viewed festivals as very risky and applied conditions to the release of the ticket revenue, i.e. the monies would not be released until three months after the festival. It was by that time too late move to another provider, and

6528-478: The electoral wards that cover Bath ( see below ) are the trustees, and they elect one of their number as their chair and mayor. The mayor holds office for one municipal year and in modern times the mayor begins their term in office on the first Saturday in June, at a ceremony at Bath Abbey with a civic procession from and to the Guildhall. The 794th mayor, who began her office on 6 May 2021, is June Player. A deputy mayor

6630-468: The first decade of the 5th century, the baths fell into disrepair and were eventually lost as a result of rising water levels and silting. In March 2012, a hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins, one of the largest discovered in Britain, was unearthed in an archaeological dig. The coins, believed to date from the 3rd century, were found about 150 m (490 ft) from the Roman baths. Bath may have been

6732-428: The footprints of some of the present shops in Fore Street. Within Trowbridge Castle was a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon church. Henry de Bohun turned this to secular use and instead had a new church built outside the Castle; this was the first St James's Church. In the base of the tower of the present day church, below the subsequently added spire, can be seen the Romanesque architecture of the period. In 1200 Henry de Bohun

6834-407: The geographical introduction to the Ecclesiastical History in terms very similar to those of Nennius. King Offa of Mercia gained control of the monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, which was dedicated to St. Peter . According to the Victorian churchman Edward Churton , during the Anglo-Saxon era Bath was known as Acemannesceastre ('Akemanchester'), or 'aching men's city', on account of

6936-415: The mud to provide a stable foundation, and surrounded the spring with an irregular stone chamber lined with lead. In the 2nd century, the spring was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted structure that housed the caldarium (hot bath), tepidarium (warm bath), and frigidarium (cold bath). The town was later given defensive walls , probably in the 3rd century. After the failure of Roman authority in

7038-460: The name Trowbridge is uncertain; one source claims derivation from treow-brycg , meaning "Tree Bridge", referring to the first bridge over the Biss, while another states the true meaning is the bridge by Trowle , the name of a hamlet and a common to the west of the town. On John Speed 's map of Wiltshire (1611), the name is spelt Trubridge . In the 10th century, written records and architectural ruins begin marking Trowbridge's existence as

7140-415: The occupation, the finances of the Bath City Council took a drubbing with council spending, rents and grants all falling. The billeting of soldiers in private houses also contributed to disorder and vandalism. Normality to the city quickly recovered after the war when the city council achieved a healthy budget surplus. Thomas Guidott , a student of chemistry and medicine at Wadham College, Oxford , set up

7242-432: The original route to Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon is used by the TransWilts service. Other services from Trowbridge join the Great Western Main Line at Bath and Chippenham , or join the Reading to Taunton line at Westbury. Trowbridge is about 18 miles (29 km) from junction 17 of the M4 motorway at Chippenham . The A361 runs through the town, connecting it to Swindon to the north-east and Barnstaple to

7344-537: The poor infirm. Administrative systems fell within the hundreds . The Bath Hundred had various names including the Hundred of Le Buri. The Bath Foreign Hundred or Forinsecum covered the area outside the city and was later combined into the Bath Forum Hundred. Wealthy merchants had no status within the hundred courts and formed guilds to gain influence. They built the first guildhall probably in

7446-519: The rate of 1,170,000 litres (257,364 imp gal) daily, from the Pennyquick geological fault . In 1983, a new spa-water bore-hole was sunk, providing a clean and safe supply for drinking in the Pump Room. There is no universal definition to distinguish a hot spring from a geothermal spring, although, by several definitions , the Bath springs can be considered the only hot springs in

7548-430: The regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection . In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground, leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall

7650-621: The reign of Edward the Elder coins were minted in Bath based on a design from the Winchester mint but with 'BAD' on the obverse relating to the Anglo-Saxon name for the town, Baðum, Baðan or Baðon, meaning "at the baths", and this was the source of the present name. Edgar of England was crowned king of England in Bath Abbey in 973, in a ceremony that formed the basis of all future English coronations . William Rufus granted

7752-485: The reputation these springs had for healing the sick. By the 9th century, the old Roman street pattern was lost and Bath was a royal possession. King Alfred laid out the town afresh, leaving its south-eastern quadrant as the abbey precinct. In the Burghal Hidage , Bath is recorded as a burh (borough) and is described as having walls of 1,375 yards (1,257 m) and was allocated 1000 men for defence. During

7854-454: The sacred spring by archaeologists. The tablets were written in Latin , and laid curses on personal enemies. For example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he might write a curse against the suspects on a tablet to be read by the goddess. A temple was constructed in AD ;60–70, and a bathing complex was built up over the next 300 years. Engineers drove oak piles into

7956-459: The same position from 1814 until his death in 1832. Mary Mortimer , born in Trowbridge in 1816, became an American educator. Sir William Cook , born in Trowbridge in 1905, was involved with the development of the British nuclear bomb at Aldermaston in the 1950s, becoming the establishment's deputy director. Sir William Roger Brown (1831–1902), a Trowbridge mill-owner, employed more than

8058-571: The site of the Battle of Badon ( c. 500 AD), in which Arthur , the hero of later legends, is said to have defeated the Anglo-Saxons . The town was captured by the West Saxons in 577 after the Battle of Deorham ; the Anglo-Saxon poem The Ruin may describe the appearance of the Roman site about this time. A monastery was founded at an early date – reputedly by Saint David although more probably in 675 by Osric , King of

8160-585: The site of the Roman baths' main spring may have been treated as a shrine by the Britons , and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis , whom the Romans identified with Minerva ; the name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, appearing in the town's Roman name , Aquae Sulis (literally, "the waters of Sulis"). Messages to her scratched onto metal, known as curse tablets , have been recovered from

8262-721: The south-west, while the north–south A350 primary route to Poole passes close to the town. The nearest airport is Bristol Airport , which is 30 miles (48 km) west. Primary schools in the town include Bellefield Primary School, The Grove Primary School, Holbrook Primary School, Oasis Academy Longmeadow, Paxcroft Primary School, The Mead Community Primary School, Newtown Primary School, Castle Mead School, St John's Catholic Primary School, Studley Green Primary School and Walwayne Court Primary School. Children may also attend schools in adjacent parishes including North Bradley CE Primary School, Hilperton CE Primary School and Staverton CE Primary School. Secondary schools in Trowbridge are

8364-531: The spas, canal boat tours, Royal Crescent, Bath Skyline , Parade Gardens and Royal Victoria Park which hosts carnivals and seasonal events. Shopping areas include SouthGate shopping centre , the Corridor arcade and artisan shops at Walcot , Milsom , Stall and York Streets. There are theatres, including the Theatre Royal , as well as several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture ,

8466-597: The textile industry, and the Newtown conservation area, a protected zone of mostly Victorian houses. The town has six Grade I listed buildings , namely St James's Church , Lovemead House on Roundstone Street, and numbers 46, 64, 68 and 70 Fore Street. The latter is referred to more commonly as Parade House . Trowbridge Town Hall is in Market Street, opposite the entrance to the now-pedestrianised Fore Street. This three-storey building with an Italianate clock-tower

8568-579: The top. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia spent four years in exile, from 1936 to 1940, at Fairfield House in Bath. During World War II , between the evening of 25 April and the early morning of 27 April 1942, Bath suffered three air raids in reprisal for RAF raids on the German cities of Lübeck and Rostock , part of the Luftwaffe campaign popularly known as the Baedeker Blitz . During

8670-494: The town for over a hundred years. The most notable member of the family was Henry de Bohun , born around 1176, who became lord of the manor when he was about 15 years of age. It was he who really began to shape the medieval town. In 1200 he obtained a market charter, arguably the earliest for a town in Wiltshire, and one of the earliest in England. His officials were to lay out burgage plots for traders, artisans, and shopkeepers. The outline of these plots can still be seen today in

8772-478: The town in the 1870s. Food production also developed in the town when Abraham Bowyer started his business in 1805 which eventually, as Pork Farms Bowyers , became one of the largest employers in the town until closure in April 2008 when production moved to the Shaftesbury and Nottingham factories. The town became the county town of Wiltshire in 1889 when Wiltshire County Council was formed and sought

8874-528: The town to take the waters: the Queen's Bath was named after her. The cue for the visit may have been the completion of the restoration work to Bath Abbey, the last instalment of which had been paid for two years previously. Anne of Denmark came to Bath in 1613 and 1615. During the English Civil War , the city was garrisoned for Charles I . Seven thousand pounds was spent on fortifications, but on

8976-616: The town's development, as it allowed coal to be transported from the Somerset Coalfield ; this marked the advent of steam-powered manufacturing in woollen cloth mills. The town was the foremost centre of woollen cloth production in south west England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, by which time it held the nickname "The Manchester of the West". The parish encompasses the settlements of Longfield, Lower Studley, Upper Studley, Studley Green and Trowle Common. The origin of

9078-462: The town, abbey and mint to a royal physician, John of Tours , who became Bishop of Wells and Abbot of Bath, following the sacking of the town during the Rebellion of 1088 . It was papal policy for bishops to move to more urban seats, and John of Tours translated his own from Wells to Bath. The bishop planned and began a much larger church as his cathedral, to which was attached a priory, with

9180-640: The town, part of the Avon Green Belt prevents expansion towards Bradford-on-Avon . To the north and northwest, housing areas in Staverton and Hilperton parishes are contiguous with Trowbridge's urban area; however, to the south and southeast, the villages of Southwick , North Bradley , Yarnbrook and West Ashton maintain their separate identities. The first official census of 1801 showed Trowbridge having 5,799 inhabitants, which rose sharply to 9,545 in 1821. The population rose by less than 50% in

9282-460: The warmest, with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter, mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer, the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England bringing fair weather; however, convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than

9384-558: The wealthy and the idle, the weak and designing" were habitual. The population of the city was 40,020 at the 1801 census, making it one of the largest cities in Britain. William Thomas Beckford bought a house in Lansdown Crescent in 1822, and subsequently two adjacent houses to form his residence. Having acquired all the land between his home and the top of Lansdown Hill , he created a garden more than 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) in length and built Beckford's Tower at

9486-718: The world. 2010 saw the introduction of an outdoor main stage (the Moonshine Stage), with two marquees (the Horizon and Old Rosie Stages), and several additional small stages and undercover performance areas. The folk club of the same name was founded by Pat Drinkwater in 1970 in a former storeroom at the rear of The Lamb pub in Mortimer Street, Trowbridge . Early performers included Maddy Prior and Tim Hart , Keith Christmas , Dick Gaughan and Stéphane Grappelli . Many others later played there. The first festival

9588-609: Was a civic-minded man and a member of Bath Corporation for many years. He was elected mayor for a single term in 1742. In the early 18th century, Bath acquired its first purpose-built theatre, the Old Orchard Street Theatre . It was rebuilt as the Theatre Royal , along with the Grand Pump Room attached to the Roman Baths and assembly rooms . Master of ceremonies Beau Nash , who presided over

9690-472: Was abolished in 1996, along with the district of Bath, and there is no longer a parish council for the city. The City of Bath's ceremonial functions, including its formal status as a city, its twinning arrangements, the mayoralty of Bath – which can be traced back to 1230 – and control of the city's coat of arms , are maintained by the charter trustees of the City of Bath. The councillors elected by

9792-561: Was besieged. It was no longer in military use by the 14th century and by the 16th only ruins remained. The castle is thought to have been a motte-and-bailey castle, and its influence can still be seen in the town today. Fore Street follows the path of the castle ditch, and town has a Castle Street and the Castle Place Shopping Centre. It is likely the Castle was built by Humphrey I de Bohun ; his family dominated

9894-512: Was created Earl of Hereford by King John . Like other barons, Henry was later threatened by King John and his caput of Trowbridge was taken from him. Henry then joined with the other barons to oppose John's arbitrary rule and forced him to seal Magna Carta (the Great Charter) at Runnymede ; and was elected as one of the 25 enforcers of the charter. Some years after Runnymede, Henry regained control of Trowbridge. Trowbridge developed as

9996-547: Was finally shut in 2000 following several changes of ownership and its equipment was sold to North Korea , where it forms the core of the Taedonggang brewery, just outside Pyongyang . Food production continues in the town through companies such as frozen food processor Apetito . The largest employers are Wiltshire Council and Apetito. Since 2002, there have been plans in place to redevelop significant town centre sites. Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF) produced

10098-432: Was hanged at Fisherton Jail, Salisbury . Nevertheless, at one point in 1820, Trowbridge's scale of production was such it was described as the " Manchester of the West". It had over 20 woollen cloth producing factories, making it comparable to northern industrial towns such as Rochdale . The woollen cloth industry declined in the late 19th century with the advent of ring-spinning , and this decline continued throughout

10200-517: Was held in 1974 before moving to Stowford Farm, Farleigh Hungerford , in 1980, under the direction of Alan Briars and Dave Newman. Newman died in 2005 and Briars in 2007. In 2006 a group of enthusiasts relaunched the Village Pump folk club at The Lamb. The 2011 event was called off, the first time this had happened, because of difficulties in obtaining ticket revenues from the online transaction company. Trowbridge Village Pump Festival Limited,

10302-540: Was opened in 1870. The town centre is compact, and the focus for shops is the ancient Fore Street; the more modern Shires , Shires Gateway and Castle Place shopping centres provide a variety of outlets. The civic centre, opened in 2011 and next to the town's central park, is a conference and entertainment venue and is home to the town's information centre as well as Trowbridge Town Council. A nearby leisure development includes an Odeon cinema and several food vendors ( Wagamama , Nando's etc.). The former Town Hall ,

10404-407: Was presented to the residents of the town by a local mill-owner, Sir William Roger Brown , in 1889 to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee . The building was the seat of local government until 1974 and subsequently accommodated the magistrates' courts until 2003. More recently it has been used for exhibitions and community events. The Town Council is the first tier of local government and

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