Trowbridge

Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Bath, Somerset. The origin of the name is uncertain; one source claims derivation from treow-brycg, meaning "Tree Bridge", referring to the first bridge over the Biss, while another states that the true meaning is the bridge by Trowle, the name of a hamlet and a common to the west of the town.

The Kennet and Avon canal runs to the north of Trowbridge and played a large part in the development of the town as it allowed coal to be transported from the Somerset coalfields. Trowbridge has a railway station on the Wessex Main Line. The civil parish of Trowbridge had a population of 28,163 at the 2001 census, making it the third largest settlement in the county after the town of Swindon and the city of Salisbury. Neighbouring towns and villages include Bradford on Avon, Westbury, Melksham, Devizes, Hilperton, Southwick and Semington.

Ancient history and the Domesday Book
There is evidence that the land on which Trowbridge is built was being farmed more than 3,000 years ago. In the 10th century there is clear evidence of Trowbridge's existence and in the Domesday Book the village of Straburg, as Trowbridge was then known, was recorded as having 100 residents.

Castle
The first mention of Trowbridge Castle was in 1139 while it was besieged – so it must have been built before this.

The castle is thought to have been a motte-and-bailey castle, and its influences can still be seen in the town today. Fore Street follows the path of the castle ditch, and its name is given to Castle Street and the Castle Place Shopping Centre.

Wool industry
From the 13th century onwards Trowbridge developed a clothing industry, increasingly becoming industrialised from the 17th century onwards. However increasing mechanisation was resisted by workers in traditional trades and there were riots in 1785, 1792 and in the era of luddism due 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 was hanged at Salisbury. Nevertheless at one point in 1820 Trowbridge was being described as the "Manchester of the West" as it had over 2,000 wool-producing factories, comparable to Northern industrial towns such as Rochdale. The wool industry declined in the late 19th century with the advent of ring-spinning and this decline continued throughout the 20th century. The last mill, Salter's Home Mill, closed in 1982 and is now the home of Trowbridge Museum, integrated into The Shires Shopping Centre. Clark's Mill is now home to offices and the County Court; 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.

1800s to present
In its place a bedding industry developed, initially using wool cast off from the mills – the company now known as Airsprung Furniture Group PLC was started in 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 was announced, with production moving to both the Shaftesbury and Nottingham]] factory. The brewing company Ushers of Trowbridge opened in 1824, and developed the brewery in the town – this was finally shut in 2000 following several changes of ownership. For many years the centre of Trowbridge smelled strongly of the brewer's mash on one day of the week, while on another the squeals of pigs being slaughtered provided a steady background noise. Food production continues in the town, with Apetito. The largest employers in the town are Wiltshire County Council, apetito, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile and PB Beauty Ltd.

Architecture
There is much of architectural interest in Trowbridge, including many of the old buildings associated with the textile industry, and the Newtown conservation area, a protected zone of mostly Victorian houses. The Town Hall is in Market Street, opposite the entrance to the pedestrianised Fore Street. This "imposing building" was presented to the residents of the town by a local businessman, Sir William Roger Brown in 1889, to celebrate Queen Victoria's fiftieth year on the throne. It is currently used for military and other inquests.

Shopping and other facilities
The town centre is compact, and the focus for shops is the ancient Fore Street; the more modern Shires and Castle Place shopping centres provide a wide variety of outlets. The Civic Hall, a conference and entertainment venue, is next to the Town Park, which is also home to the tourist information kiosk.



Population
The first official census of 1801 showed Trowbridge having 5,799 inhabitants, while the most recent of 2001 lists 28,163. No census was taken in 1941 due to the Second World War. Since 1951, the population has increased by 103%. Trowbridge has the highest population of Moroccans in the UK outside of London.

Government
Trowbridge is within the Westbury parliamentary constituency and represented by Andrew Murrison (Conservative). The Boundary Commission has announced changes to the constituency, and in 2009-2010 it will become South West Wiltshire. It is the centre for Wiltshire Council, a unitary authority created in April 2009 which replaced (for relevant purposes) West Wiltshire District Council and the former Wiltshire County Council.

The Town Council is the lowest level of government.

Entertainment and communications
The Arc Theatre(West Wiltshire's playhouse), based in Trowbridge, is at the cutting edge of exciting new theatre and dance, bringing original and innovative performances from around the world to the town.

Trowbridge is part of the historic West Country Carnival circuit, and has also given its name to the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival. The Festival was originally held in the old stablehouse of The Lamb Inn public house on Mortimer Street in Trowbridge, and was founded by Alan Briars and Dave Newman, although the event is now held at Stowford Manor farm between Wingfield near Trowbridge and Farleigh Hungerford in Somerset.

Trowbridge Town F.C. is the local football club, based at North Bradley near Trowbridge. They are currently members of the Hellenic Football League Division One West.

Notable Trowbridge residents
Trowbridge was the birthplace of Sir Isaac Pitman, developer of the Pitman Shorthand system of shorthand writing. He is remembered in the town through several memorial plaques, and his name has been taken by a pub in the town centre run by Wetherspoons. Matthew Hutton (Archbishop of Canterbury) was the town's Rector from 1726 to 1730. The poet George Crabbe held the same position from 1814 until his death in 1832.

John Dyer was a Trowbridge born inventor and engineer whose most important invention was the rotary fulling machine in 1833. A version of the machine, developed for the local woollen industry, is still in use today.

Sir William Cook KCB Kt FRS, born in Trowbridge on April 10, 1905, was involved with the development of the British nuclear bomb at Aldermaston in the 1950s, becoming the establishment's deputy director.


 * Janet Anderson, MP for Rossendale and Darwen
 * Solomon Andrews, entrepreneur
 * Christopher Benjamin, actor
 * Alan Bullock, historian, author of Hitler: A Study in Tyranny
 * Humphrey Burton, broadcaster and biographer
 * Keri Davies, radio producer and dramatist, The Archers
 * Nathan Dyer, footballer for Swansea City AFC
 * George Haden, inventor of heating and ventilation systems
 * Lewis Haldane, footballer
 * Trevor Heeks, past winner of the World Town Crier Championship
 * Thomas Helliker, trade union martyr, hanged 1803 as a suspected Luddite
 * Gemma Hunt, television presenter
 * Joan M. Hussey, historian
 * Dan Richmond, Professional Rugby Player (Northampton Saints, Bedford Blues)
 * Stephen Lee, professional snooker-player
 * William Mann, cricketer (Worcestershire)
 * Deborah Meaden, entrepreneur and panellist on Dragons' Den
 * Bel Mooney, journalist and broadcaster
 * Christopher Newbury, member of the Congress of the Council of Europe
 * William Hughes, Literary critic and Professor of Gothic Studies at Bath Spa University
 * Jamie Pitman, footballer
 * William Redfern, surgeon
 * Alan Snow, author and illustrator of Here Be Monsters!
 * David Stratton, Australian film critic

Town redevelopment
Since 2002, there have been plans in place to redevelop significant town centre sites.

In the early 1990s the supermarket chain Tesco changed location from their site at St Stephens Place to a site adjoining the A361 on County Way. The previous site has been dormant since being demolished some years ago, and has become notorious for its extremely large mound of crushed concrete and other remains (pictured below). Redevelopment has since suffered through several delayed starts.

Trowbridge residents have frequently voiced their desire for new facilities to be built on the site, with reference often made to Trowbridge's lack of a cinema. Developers Modus have now signed up to provide a Vue Cinema in the plan for the Waterside complex. And in March 2008, an outline planning application for the proposed development was approved by West Wiltshire District Council, to include a new library, cinema, ten-pin bowling, hotel and restaurants. In the same week, the Town Council supported plans for Waitrose Supermarkets to build a store on land at Cradle Bridge/County Way, currently containing a derelict factory, previously occupied by the Peter Black Group.

The developer Parkridge has also commenced construction of a new retail centre between the Shires and the railway station, bringing new names to the town such as Next and Brantano.

The former Ushers brewery site has also been in the process of redevelopment for a number of years. A development on the old Ushers brewing site is well underway by Newland Homes, building high quality town centre apartments, incorporating the old frontage of the Ushers brewery.

In April 2009 building work started on one of the towns biggest brownfield sites, the former Ushers bottling plant. This site is being developed into a Sainsbury supermarket, bars and restaurants, public square and housing. This is due to be complete by May 2010.

TCAF
Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF) is responsible for the production of the Trowbridge Community Area Plan, which will help influence service providers to improve Trowbridge and guide future development. This is part of a County-wide commitment by Wiltshire Council to deliver services in a more community focussed way that relates more directly to the needs and aspirations of local people via Community Area Partnerships. These community run, independent and autonomous groups are producing local Community Area Plans across the County in partnership with Wiltshire Council and other organisations, stake holders and service providers.

The current Trowbrdige Community Area Plan is available via the TCAF/TTC website.

Town twinning
Trowbridge is twinned with four towns: Oujda in Morocco since 2006, Trowbridge was the first English town to twin with an Arab Muslim country. Leer in Germany since 1989, Charenton-le-Pont in France since 1996, and Elbląg in Poland, as part of West Wiltshire district twinning, since 2000.