Chippenham

Chippenham: Buttercross

Chippenham, town (parish), administrative and historic county of Wiltshire, southwestern England. It is located on the River Avon (Lower, or Bristol, Avon) in the northwestern part of the county.

Chippenham was the site of a royal residence during the Middle Ages and appears in Domesday Book (1086) as a crown manor. St. Andrew’s Church dates from the 12th century. From the 16th century the town was a woolen centre. The road between London and Bath, a major English routeway, crosses the River Avon at Chippenham by a stone bridge of 22 arches. Milk distribution and processing now form the town’s main industry; other activities include food processing, tanning, furniture making, and electrical engineering. Pop. (2001) 28,065; (2011) 35,800.