Malmesbury
On the northern borders of Wiltshire stands the small market town of Malmesbury. Its origins date back to the middle of the sixth century, after the Saxons wrested final control over this part of the country from the Britons. Malmesbury is the oldest borough in England, with a charter given by Alfred the Great around 880.
Traditionally a market town serving the rural area of north west Wiltshire, farming has been the main industry. Now, Malmesbury’s main employer is Dyson who have their headquarters on the edge of the town, and employ around 1,600 people. The HQ is now mainly a design organisation, with manufacturing carried out in Malaysia. The town also has a thriving High Street with numerous independent shops and a regular market. It is increasingly a tourist centre, popularised initially by John Betjeman and visitors to Malmesbury Abbey have always numbered tens of thousands a year. In recent years, the town has experienced a new tourism boom, mainly because of the national renown of Abbey House Gardens, a five acre garden attraction based around the medieval Abbott’s House next to the Abbey. The gardens, which stretch from close to the town centre down to the River Avon below, were created by Ian and Barbara Pollard, also known as ‘The Naked Gardeners’ and opened to the public in the late 1990s.
