Wootton Bassett Timeline

20th century finds of Romano-British pottery suggest possible Roman occupation

Saxon King Ethelred grants 10 hides of land (about 1200 acres) at Wodeton to the Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey

Wodeton is sacked by marauding Danes and settlement moves from what is now Dunnington Road to the present High Street

Wodeton belongs to Levenod as a manor with a Norman lord, Milo Crispin: Domesday book records it as comprising about 1440 acres, 24 of meadow and 33 of pasture, with 9 plough teams, a wood and a water mill. The population is between 100 and 140

A church is first mentioned when Alan Bassett obtains the advowson ( the right to appoint the parish priest) from the monks of Monkton Farleigh

Fulk Bassett, Bishop of London, oversees the completion of either a new building or a rebuilding of the old church and dedicates it to St. Bartholomew and All Saints

Henry III gives permission for a weekly market in the town on Fridays

Henry III grants permission to Alan Bassett to create a deer park at Vastern

Vastern Manor House is built by Gilbert Bassett

The Priory/ Hospital of St. John the Baptist and All Saints is founded by Sir Philip Bassett to provide a daily meal to 13 old men of the parish

There is a water mill (Hunt's Mill) and 2 windmills in the parish

For a time during this period there is a royal stud at Vastern

First known mayor of Wootton Bassett is John Wollmonger

The towns sends 2 MPs to parliament from this time

The Priory closes

Substantial rebuilding of St. Bartholomew's Church

Parts of the Waggon & Horses and the Currier's Arms date from this time

A charter is granted to hold 3 fairs and a court of piepowder to execute summary justice on disturbers of the peace

There is a fairly flourishing cloth manufacturing industry in the parish

The silver maces in the Town Hall, which bear the arms of King James I, date from this time

Edward Hyde, later Earl of Clarendon and chancellor to Charles II, is MP for Wootton Bassett

There is an outbreak of plague in the town which kills 60 people

Priory Cottage in Wood Street, believed to be on the site of St. John's Priory, dates from about this time; three Roman Catholics and eight non-conformists are listed in the bishop's census

King Charles II grants a charter of incorporation to the borough confirming all earlier charters and the existing corporation

Lime Kiln House (presently the home of GWR Radio Station) is built about this time

Lawrence Hyde presents a seal to the corporation

The Town Hall is built by Lawrence Hyde about this time

A free grammar school for boys is founded on a legacy of £300 from Richard Jones

The house of William Norris, known as the 'Sign of the Bear' is registered as a meeting place for Quakers (Society of Friends)

The fire engine, which today stands underneath the Town Hall, is built in London but may not have been that used in the town originally

The Crosskeys Inn is built incorporating an earlier building

15 persons are licensed to keep alehouses

A shambles is built to the west of the Town Hall to house the market

A meeting place for Independents is licensed

The windmill near Hunt's Mill is blown down

The ducking pond and ducking stool, used to punish scolding women, is last used about this time for ducking a woman named Peggy Lawrence

A workhouse for 12 people in Old Court is in existence

Innoculations against smallpox given to some of the children in the parish

Agriculture is still the main occupation of the parish

Construction of the Wilts and Berks Canal across the parish is now complete - A wharf is built at Vastern where coal is offloaded and local produce loaded

The mayoral sword bearing the Clarendon coat of arms on the scabbard is presented to the Borough by John Attersol, one of the Members of Parliament for Wootton Bassett at the time

The market closes and the shambles is removed

Victory Row, a row of 15 cottages, is built by William Cripps to celebrate a Whig victory

There are 11 inns in the town

A medieval wall painting depicting the murder of St. Thomas Becket, which is believed to have been plastered over by Oliver Cromwell's men, is revealed at St. Bartholomew's Church ( removed in 1856)

The Congregational Church is built in Wood Street

2 cottages in the High Street are converted into a chapel for Primitive Methodists

The parish becomes part of Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Poor Law Union

The first Autumn hiring fair for agricultural and domestic servants is held, fairs being held annually in Spring and Autumn up until the end of the century; the cattle market is revived as monthly event, held on a Wednesday: the ducking pond in the High Street, between the Angel and the Crown, is filled in

The Primitive Methodist Chapel, later to be known as Hillside Chapel, is rebuilt on the same site as the earlier converted chapel

There is a Post Office near the Royal Oak

The railway line from London to Bristol is constructed through the parish and a station, Wootton Bassett Junction, opened

Primitive Methodists open a day school adjoining the chapel at a cost of £700

A Bible Society is formed

The National schools are established at Mount Pleasant on a temporary basis

Wesleyan Methodist services begin

Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is built in the High Street

Primitive Methodist day school sold to the British & Foreign Society and becomes the British School

The Gas, Coke and Light Company is formed in Station Road; the free grammar school has now closed

The National school for children and adults in Station Road, built by a local builder Isaac Lansdown, is opened by the Bishop of Salisbury (now the Civic Centre)

The Royal Oak is built in High Street, on the site of an earlier hotel, as a hunting inn

Church of St. Bartholomew and All Saints extensively restored by G. E. Street and funded by Sir Henry Meux at a cost of £7000, incorporating 1 window from the 13th century church

A police station is built by Sir Henry Meux in Station Road

£400 is spent on a drainage scheme for the town; a Baptist community is formed

There is a brick making business and 3 brickyards in the town; by this time the town is paved throughout

A new clock replaces the clock dating from 1724 in the tower of St. Bartholomew's Church

Wootton Bassett loses its borough status; the Beaufort Brewery is built in Railway Road

The Town Hall is extensively restored by Sir Henry Meux

The Town Library, a subscription library, opens in the Town Hall; there is now a rope making business in the town

First piped water supply to the town provided and a water tower is built in Coxstalls; the sewage works in Marlborough Road is built

A hospital is built

The first meeting of the Wootton Bassett Parish Council is held at the Civic Centre

Hope Church, a Baptist chapel, is built in High Street

The Richard Jones charity provides scholarships for Wootton Bassett scholars to attend Swindon Technical School

A new main railway line to South Wales opens from a junction on the old line

All traffic on the Wilts and Berks canal has ceased and Hunt's Mill closes

The Dairy Supply Company opens its factory near the station

The Royal Oak Hotel closes

Angelinetto's butcher's shop is converted into a cinema

Wiltshire United Dairies Ltd acquires the Dairy Supply Company

First council houses built in Station Road

A larger tower (service) reservoir is in place in Coxtalls with 55,000 gallons of water available daily

The Gerard Buxton Memorial Sports Ground opens; the hospital closes

Electric street lighting is provided

The gasworks close

A free library service provided by Wiltshire County Council replaces the Town Library

The monthly cattle market closes

Hope Church closes

Wootton Bassett Lake is purchased by the Parish Council

A Roman Catholic Chapel of Ease is formed, served from Swindon

The Currier's Arms is rebuilt

The Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart opens

The Modern School, for pupils aged 11+ who have not gained scholarships to the Grammar School, opens

Wiltshire United Daires Ltd merges with Cow & Gate Company to form Unigate Creameries Ltd

Extensive house building taking place to accommodate the expansion of Swindon and the establishment of the RAF station at Lyneham

Blanch-Lely Ltd, makers of agricultural machinery, open a factory in Whitehill Lane employing about 100 people

The British School receives coverage in the national press and on television following an adverse report by the Pubic Health Department on hygiene in its kitchen and lavatories, hastening plans for a new school

Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is demolished and the congregation merge with the Primitive Methodists at Hillside Chapel; Hunt's Mill is demolished

The railway station closes

Unigate Creameries are employing about 175 people at this time; new timber yard at Vastern opens

Juniors from the British School move to the newly built Noremarsh Community Junior School in Clarendon Drive

The Congregationalists merge with the Presbyterians to form the United Reform Church; the library moves to a pre-fabricated building in Back Lane

The Local History Museum opens

An annual carnival is introduced; Longleaze Primary School opens while the Modern School becomes a comprehensive and is renamed Wootton Bassett School

A new building for St. Bartholomew's C. of E. Primary School is opened

The Parish Council becomes a Town Council and the office of Mayor, abolished with the removal of the status of Boroughs in 1886, is re-established following a Local Government Review

The water tank in Coxtalls is removed

The area around Wootton Bassett Lake is developed to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and is renamed Jubilee Lake Park; a project to restore the Wilts & Berks Canal begins

The roof of St. Bartholomew's Church is restored and its ceilings repainted

A new purpose-built police station on the corner of the High Street and Lime Kiln is opened by HRH Princess Anne

The Borough Fields shopping centre is built

A new purpose-built library opens in Borough Fields shopping centre

The original Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart is replaced with a new building of modern design

The Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Town Centre Management Steering Group produces a business plan for the town

Wootton Bassett Comprehensive school moves to a new building

Wootton Bassett Comprehensive school is opened by HRH Princess Anne; St. Ivel, one of the largest employers in the town,closes

The town has become nationally known for the respect and tribute shown by its people when the bodies of members of the armed services are taken through the High Street after being flown home from Afghanistan