Malmesbury

Malmesbury (ˈmɑː(l)mzbəri) is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upper waters of the Bristol Avon and one of its tributaries. Once the site of an Iron Age fort, in the early medieval period Malmesbury became the site of Malmesbury Abbey, a monastery famed for its learning. It was later home to one of Alfred the Great's fortified burhs for defence against the Vikings. Æthelstan, the first king of all England, was buried in Malmesbury Abbey when he died in 939. As a market town, it became prominent in the Middle Ages as a centre for learning, focused on and around the abbey. In modern times, Malmesbury is best known for its abbey, the bulk of which forms a rare survival of the dissolution of the monasteries. The economy benefits mostly from agriculture, as well as tourism to the Cotswolds, and a Dyson facility, the town's main employer. At the 2011 census, the population of the parish was 5,380. The hilltop contains several freshwater springs, which helped early settlements. It was the site of an Iron Age fort, and in the Anglo-Saxon period it had a monastery famed as a centre of learning. The town is listed in the Burghal Hidage as one of Alfred the Great's defended burhs assessed at 1200 hides, its Iron Age defences helping to provide protection against Viking attack. The town was described in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a borough. Also within the Domesday Book it is reported to be within the Hundred (county division) of Cicementone. Alfred's grandson, Æthelstan, the first king of England, was buried in Malmesbury Abbey in 939. Malmesbury Abbey The Abbey was founded in 675 by Maildubh, Mailduf or Maelduib, an Irishman. The town came to be named after Maildubh; the name Malmesbury is a combination of Maildubh and burh, meaning Maildubh's fortification.