Wootton Bassett
Encyclopedia
Royal Wootton Bassett informally known as Wootton Bassett, is a small market town
and civil parish
in Wiltshire
, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001. Situated in the north of the county, it lies 6 miles (9.5 km) to the southwest of the major town of Swindon
.
The town was granted royal patronage in March 2011 by Elizabeth II in recognition of its role in the early 21st century military funeral repatriations, which passed through the town. This honour was officially conferred in a ceremony on 16 October 2011 – the first royal patronage to be conferred upon a town (as distinguished from a borough or county) since 1909.
charter granting land to the Abbot.
Archaeological discoveries in the area tend to confirm the tradition that the original "Wodeton" (Settlement in the wood - i.e. in Bradon Forest) was near the present Dunnington Road. Allegedly under continuous occupation throughout Celtic
and Romano-British
periods, the land was granted in 681 AD to Malmesbury Abbey. Further grants of land nearby appear in the records from time to time, but of Wodeton itself we hear no more until it was sacked by the marauding Danes in 1015, whereupon the survivors decided to move uphill to the site of the present High Street.
where it was noted that Miles Crispin
held the rights and these included "land for 12 ploughs...a mill...and 24 acres (9.7 ha) of meadow...33 acres of pasture and woodland which is two leagues by a league". It was said to be worth nine pounds.
announced, at the start of Prime Minister's Questions
, that while "from September, military repatriations will no longer pass through the town of Wootton Bassett", "Her Majesty has agreed to confer the title 'Royal' upon the town, as an enduring symbol of the nation’s admiration and gratitude". The addition to the town's name was enacted through Letters Patent
and became effective on 16 October 2011, when The Princess Royal
visited the town to present formally the Letters Patent to the town council. Wootton Bassett has become the third Royal town in the country after Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Tunbridge Wells
, and the first to receive the status in over 100 years.
is a 8000 sqm geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, which was notified in 1997.
, a unitary authority
established in 2009 as part of wider local government changes in England
. In the national Westminster government
, since the 2010 general election the town has been represented by the Conservative MP James Gray, as the elected member for the North Wiltshire parliament constituency
, established in 1983. In the European Parliament
, the town is represented as part of the South West England constituency
.
The original Wootton Bassett UK Parliamentary constituency
was abolished in 1832. The right of the town to send two representatives to Parliament was first gained as early as 1446 and before the Reform Act 1832
, Wootton Bassett was known as a Rotten Borough
, due to the way in which elections were conducted there, which were the antithesis of modern democratic elections. Voters were required to state their preferences in public before representatives of each side, and were openly bribed. In 1754 the accounts of a successful candidate show that his supporters were paid £30 each for their vote, and in the run up to the election the candidates secured the allegiance of public houses in the town, where voters were plied with free refreshments. Free beer was also provided by men who carried containers about the town. The same accounts show that £1,077 was paid out to 12 'pubs' for the refreshments.
recorded the town's population as 11,043, indicating that the town has tripled in population total during the previous 50 years. Since the opening of the M4 motorway
, the town has become attractive to commuters, many travelling to the towns and cities of Swindon
, Chippenham
, Bath and Bristol
. The town also has a significant Royal Air Force
population due to its proximity to RAF Lyneham
.
, Wootton Bassett School
. It has a number of primary schools: St Bartholomew's C of E, Longleaze Primary school, Noremarsh Junior school and County infants. County infants is a feeder school to Noremarsh juniors.
, with the base situated 4 miles (7 km) to the south. The station was first established with a hard runway in May 1940. Having always operated long range transport flights from its long runways, from 1971 the base became the Royal Air Force's principal tactical transport hub, with the introduction of the C-130 Hercules
transport plane. The base was slated for closure in 2012 with the retirement of the final C130K Hercules, with all other planes and operations then being transferred to RAF Brize Norton
in Oxfordshire.
fighting in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan
and other places, having been repatriated to RAF Lyneham
, usually passed through the town as part of a funeral cortège, on their way to John Radcliffe Hospital
, Oxford, in readiness for the coroner.
Relatives/friends not attending the RAF Lyneham ceremony often chose to pay their first respects at Wootton Bassett. This soon led to other people assembling as mourners along the route, initially from the local area. Gradually, the processions begun to be attended by people from far and wide with large gatherings, which were mostly well received, although some labelled it a form of 'grief tourism'. When RAF Lyneham closed in September 2011, the repatriations moved to RAF Brize Norton and go near to the village of Carterton
.
On 12 October 2008, an Armed Forces parade was held in the town. On Friday 29 January 2010 the town was visited by The Prince of Wales
and his wife The Duchess of Cornwall, to lay a wreath at the War Memorial and meet local people. On 21 December 2009, Prince William presented the town with one of The Sun
s "Millie" awards for Support to the Armed Forces, stating "One of the most remarkable things is that the people are so modest, they refuse to accept any praise".
In May 2009, The Royal British Legion
honoured Wootton Bassett with a special award in recognition of Legion members, many of whom are ex-servicemen and women, who attend the repatriations. Motorcyclists from The Royal British Legion Riders Branch
attended repatriations held in the town.
In 2009, singer/songwriter Talis Kimberley
, from nearby Wroughton
, wrote a song commemorating the rendering of honours, called "Fourteen Hundred Hours".
Calls for the town to have Royal status bestowed on it had emerged in September 2009 and, while in the form of petitions and social media campaigns there had been public support for both the Royal title and other forms of national expressions of thanks at the time, local figures were less keen on the idea. South Wootton Bassett councillor Chris Wannell and Wootton Bassett Mayor Steve Bucknell both thought that it was not what local people would want, preferring to just honour the dead with no expectation of thanks.
Other tributes have included a public mass charity motorcycle parade through the town in March 2010, which also raised £100,000 for the charity Afghan Heroes.
turned up, after controversial plans for a demonstration in the town by the Muslim
extremist group Islam4UK, led by Anjem Choudary
, came under widespread condemnation. The group eventually called off the plan, claiming that the publicity generated had "successfully highlighted the plight of Muslims in Afghanistan" and so "no more could be achieved even if a procession were to take place".
was granted to Wootton Bassett Town Council, by Letters Patent of Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms
, on 30 August 2011, the day before the date of the Queen's Patent granting the designation "Royal" to the town. The town had previously used unofficial Arms consisting of a chevron
between three lozenge
s: the granted design adapts this to reflect the Royal favour accorded in recognition of Wootton Bassett's role in recent repatriations of fallen servicemen and women.
The new coat of arms of Royal Wootton Bassett is: Gules
a Chevron Argent between in chief two Lozenges and in base a Lion passant guardant Or. The lion passant is a visible heraldic sign of the royal favour.
to the south west, a town in the west of the county. The only other numbered road out of the town is the B4042 road, which runs to Malmesbury
in the west.
Opened in 1971, the town is also close to Junction 16 of the M4 motorway
connecting London with South Wales, allowing easy access to other towns and cities of the M4 corridor
.
, and is a major junction on the rail network, being the location where the South Wales Main Line
branches off of the Great Western Main Line
. As such, stations nearby offer direct connections to London, the South West and Wales.
The first station to serve the town was Wootton Bassett Road, opened by the Great Western Railway
(GWR) in 1840 some distance from the town (sometimes referred to as Hay Lane), when the Great Western Main Line from reached the town. After just a year, with the completion of the Box Tunnel
allowing the line to reach , this was replaced by the closer Wootton Bassett railway station. In 1903, after the new South Wales branch opened, the station was demolished and rebuilt as Wootton Bassett Junction at the junction of the two lines. British Rail
ways closed that station in 1965. There have been on-going attempts to re-open a station in the early 21st century.
in 1801 and was completed when it reached Abingdon
in 1810. The last narrowboat
traffic to Wootton Bassett was in 1906 and the canal was abandoned by Act of Parliament in 1914. The canal is now being restored by the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust.
who play their home games at the 2,000 capacity Gerrard Buxton Sports Ground in Rylands Way. As of the 2010-11 season, the club was competing in the Hellenic Football League
Premier Division.
Other successful sports clubs include Wootton Bassett Hockey Club, Wootton Bassett Otters Swimming Club, Wootton Bassett Rugby Football Club and Wootton Bassett Bowls Club.
is the former town hall, which is an upper storey supported on 15 pillars. It was built at the end of the 17th century, a gift from the Hyde family (Earls of Clarendon).
, a commune
in the Loire-Atlantique
department in western France.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001. Situated in the north of the county, it lies 6 miles (9.5 km) to the southwest of the major town of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
.
The town was granted royal patronage in March 2011 by Elizabeth II in recognition of its role in the early 21st century military funeral repatriations, which passed through the town. This honour was officially conferred in a ceremony on 16 October 2011 – the first royal patronage to be conferred upon a town (as distinguished from a borough or county) since 1909.
Wodeton settlement
AD 681 is usually taken as the starting point for recorded history of Wootton Bassett, then known as Wodeton, it being referred to in that year in a Malmesbury AbbeyMalmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. In 941 AD, King Athelstan was buried in the Abbey. By the 11th century it contained the second largest library in Europe and was...
charter granting land to the Abbot.
Archaeological discoveries in the area tend to confirm the tradition that the original "Wodeton" (Settlement in the wood - i.e. in Bradon Forest) was near the present Dunnington Road. Allegedly under continuous occupation throughout Celtic
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
and Romano-British
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
periods, the land was granted in 681 AD to Malmesbury Abbey. Further grants of land nearby appear in the records from time to time, but of Wodeton itself we hear no more until it was sacked by the marauding Danes in 1015, whereupon the survivors decided to move uphill to the site of the present High Street.
Domesday Book
Wootton Bassett is mentioned in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
where it was noted that Miles Crispin
Miles Crispin
Miles Crispin , also known as Miles or Milo of Wallingford, was a wealthy Norman landowner, particularly associated with Wallingford Castle in Berkshire...
held the rights and these included "land for 12 ploughs...a mill...and 24 acres (9.7 ha) of meadow...33 acres of pasture and woodland which is two leagues by a league". It was said to be worth nine pounds.
Royal status
In the early 21st century, the town became known for the informal tributes it paid during military repatriation funeral processions which passed through the town. On 16 March 2011, Prime Minister David CameronDavid Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
announced, at the start of Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
, that while "from September, military repatriations will no longer pass through the town of Wootton Bassett", "Her Majesty has agreed to confer the title 'Royal' upon the town, as an enduring symbol of the nation’s admiration and gratitude". The addition to the town's name was enacted through Letters Patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
and became effective on 16 October 2011, when The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
visited the town to present formally the Letters Patent to the town council. Wootton Bassett has become the third Royal town in the country after Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
, and the first to receive the status in over 100 years.
Geography
Suburbs of Wootton Bassett include Coped Hall, Noremarsh, Woodshaw and Vastern (a small hamlet to the south). The Wootton Bassett Mud SpringWootton Bassett Mud Spring
Wootton Bassett Mud Spring is a 8,000 square metre geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, England, notified in 1997.-Source:* -External links:* * *...
is a 8000 sqm geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, which was notified in 1997.
Governance
In local government, the town falls under the auspices of Wiltshire CouncilWiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
, a unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
established in 2009 as part of wider local government changes in England
2009 structural changes to local government in England
Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts...
. In the national Westminster government
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, since the 2010 general election the town has been represented by the Conservative MP James Gray, as the elected member for the North Wiltshire parliament constituency
North Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)
North Wiltshire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until 1983, it was known as Chippenham.- Boundaries :As the name suggests, the constituency covers most of north Wiltshire...
, established in 1983. In the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the town is represented as part of the South West England constituency
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
.
The original Wootton Bassett UK Parliamentary constituency
Wootton Bassett (UK Parliament constituency)
Wootton Bassett was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1447 until 1832, when the rotten borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
was abolished in 1832. The right of the town to send two representatives to Parliament was first gained as early as 1446 and before the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, Wootton Bassett was known as a Rotten Borough
Rotten borough
A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
, due to the way in which elections were conducted there, which were the antithesis of modern democratic elections. Voters were required to state their preferences in public before representatives of each side, and were openly bribed. In 1754 the accounts of a successful candidate show that his supporters were paid £30 each for their vote, and in the run up to the election the candidates secured the allegiance of public houses in the town, where voters were plied with free refreshments. Free beer was also provided by men who carried containers about the town. The same accounts show that £1,077 was paid out to 12 'pubs' for the refreshments.
Population
The United Kingdom Census 2001United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
recorded the town's population as 11,043, indicating that the town has tripled in population total during the previous 50 years. Since the opening of the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
, the town has become attractive to commuters, many travelling to the towns and cities of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Chippenham
Chippenham, Wiltshire
Chippenham is a market town in Wiltshire, England, located east of Bath and west of London. In the 2001 census the population of the town was recorded as 28,065....
, Bath and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The town also has a significant Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
population due to its proximity to RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham is a Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England. It was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton.The station was also home to No...
.
Education
Wootton Bassett has one secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, Wootton Bassett School
Wootton Bassett School
Wootton Bassett School is a co-educational, comprehensive secondary school in the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett.The school has technology college status, and operates an on-site Sixth Form department...
. It has a number of primary schools: St Bartholomew's C of E, Longleaze Primary school, Noremarsh Junior school and County infants. County infants is a feeder school to Noremarsh juniors.
RAF Lyneham
The town is close to RAF LynehamRAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham is a Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England. It was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton.The station was also home to No...
, with the base situated 4 miles (7 km) to the south. The station was first established with a hard runway in May 1940. Having always operated long range transport flights from its long runways, from 1971 the base became the Royal Air Force's principal tactical transport hub, with the introduction of the C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
transport plane. The base was slated for closure in 2012 with the retirement of the final C130K Hercules, with all other planes and operations then being transferred to RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton
RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....
in Oxfordshire.
Repatriations
In the early 21st century, the bodies of dead servicemen and women of the British Armed ForcesBritish Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
fighting in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and other places, having been repatriated to RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham is a Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England. It was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton.The station was also home to No...
, usually passed through the town as part of a funeral cortège, on their way to John Radcliffe Hospital
John Radcliffe Hospital
The John Radcliffe Hospital is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England.It is the main teaching hospital for Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University. As such, it is a well-developed centre of medical research. It also incorporates the Medical School of the University of Oxford....
, Oxford, in readiness for the coroner.
Relatives/friends not attending the RAF Lyneham ceremony often chose to pay their first respects at Wootton Bassett. This soon led to other people assembling as mourners along the route, initially from the local area. Gradually, the processions begun to be attended by people from far and wide with large gatherings, which were mostly well received, although some labelled it a form of 'grief tourism'. When RAF Lyneham closed in September 2011, the repatriations moved to RAF Brize Norton and go near to the village of Carterton
Carterton, Oxfordshire
Carterton is the second largest town in West Oxfordshire and is about south of the A40 and south-west of Witney. The town is on the edge of the Thames Valley and on the edge of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-History:...
.
Tributes
The public shows of support during the repatriations led to several tributes to the town and its mourners.On 12 October 2008, an Armed Forces parade was held in the town. On Friday 29 January 2010 the town was visited by The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and his wife The Duchess of Cornwall, to lay a wreath at the War Memorial and meet local people. On 21 December 2009, Prince William presented the town with one of The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
s "Millie" awards for Support to the Armed Forces, stating "One of the most remarkable things is that the people are so modest, they refuse to accept any praise".
In May 2009, The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion , sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.-History:The British Legion was...
honoured Wootton Bassett with a special award in recognition of Legion members, many of whom are ex-servicemen and women, who attend the repatriations. Motorcyclists from The Royal British Legion Riders Branch
The Royal British Legion Riders Branch
The Royal British Legion Riders Branch is a branch of The Royal British Legion. It was formed in 2004.Whilst its membership is dominated by ex and current HM Armed Forces personnel, it also welcomes potential members who support the aims of the Royal British Legion, namely of helping and assisting...
attended repatriations held in the town.
In 2009, singer/songwriter Talis Kimberley
Talis Kimberley
Talis Kimberley is a British folk singer/songwriter based in Wiltshire, England. Her songs are narrative in nature and feature a mixture of mythology, green issues and everyday life approached from unexpected angles among other things...
, from nearby Wroughton
Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village in Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and is south of Swindon.-History:The earliest evidence of human presence in the area is from the Mesolithic period, although this is fairly limited...
, wrote a song commemorating the rendering of honours, called "Fourteen Hundred Hours".
Calls for the town to have Royal status bestowed on it had emerged in September 2009 and, while in the form of petitions and social media campaigns there had been public support for both the Royal title and other forms of national expressions of thanks at the time, local figures were less keen on the idea. South Wootton Bassett councillor Chris Wannell and Wootton Bassett Mayor Steve Bucknell both thought that it was not what local people would want, preferring to just honour the dead with no expectation of thanks.
Other tributes have included a public mass charity motorcycle parade through the town in March 2010, which also raised £100,000 for the charity Afghan Heroes.
Protests
In 2009, the EDLEnglish Defence League
The English Defence League is a far-right street protest movement which opposes what it considers to be a spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in the UK. The EDL uses street marches to protest against Islamic extremism...
turned up, after controversial plans for a demonstration in the town by the Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
extremist group Islam4UK, led by Anjem Choudary
Anjem Choudary
Anjem Choudary is a British former solicitor, and, before it was proscribed, spokesman for the Islamist group Islam4UK. He is married, has four children, and lives in Ilford, London....
, came under widespread condemnation. The group eventually called off the plan, claiming that the publicity generated had "successfully highlighted the plight of Muslims in Afghanistan" and so "no more could be achieved even if a procession were to take place".
Arms of Royal Wootton Bassett
An official coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
was granted to Wootton Bassett Town Council, by Letters Patent of Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms
King of Arms
King of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings. In other traditions, the power has been delegated to other officers of similar rank.-Heraldic duties:...
, on 30 August 2011, the day before the date of the Queen's Patent granting the designation "Royal" to the town. The town had previously used unofficial Arms consisting of a chevron
Chevron
Chevron may refer to:* Chevron , a decoration* Chevron , a bone* Chevron , a fold in rock layers* Chevron , a sediment deposit across the earth's surface* The Chevron, a newspaper...
between three lozenge
Lozenge
A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...
s: the granted design adapts this to reflect the Royal favour accorded in recognition of Wootton Bassett's role in recent repatriations of fallen servicemen and women.
The new coat of arms of Royal Wootton Bassett is: Gules
Gules
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
a Chevron Argent between in chief two Lozenges and in base a Lion passant guardant Or. The lion passant is a visible heraldic sign of the royal favour.
Roads
The main road through the town is the A3102 road, which connects it to Swindon to the east and MelkshamMelksham
Melksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire.It is situated southeast of the city of Bath, south of Chippenham, west of Devizes and north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000...
to the south west, a town in the west of the county. The only other numbered road out of the town is the B4042 road, which runs to Malmesbury
Malmesbury
Malmesbury is a market town and civil parish located in the southern Cotswolds in the county of Wiltshire, England. Historically Malmesbury was a centre for learning and home to Malmesbury Abbey...
in the west.
Opened in 1971, the town is also close to Junction 16 of the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
connecting London with South Wales, allowing easy access to other towns and cities of the M4 corridor
M4 corridor
The M4 corridor is the area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. The area is a major hub for high-technology companies...
.
Railways
Royal Wootton Bassett has no railway station, although it has been served in the past by three railway stationsWootton Bassett railway stations
There have been three Great Western Railway stations serving the town of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, England. The first was Wootton Bassett Road which was some distance from the town, this was replaced by Wootton Bassett railway station which was then rebuilt as Wootton Bassett Junction to...
, and is a major junction on the rail network, being the location where the South Wales Main Line
South Wales Main Line
The South Wales Main Line , originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain...
branches off of the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
. As such, stations nearby offer direct connections to London, the South West and Wales.
The first station to serve the town was Wootton Bassett Road, opened by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) in 1840 some distance from the town (sometimes referred to as Hay Lane), when the Great Western Main Line from reached the town. After just a year, with the completion of the Box Tunnel
Box Tunnel
Box Tunnel is a railway tunnel in Western England, between Bath and Chippenham, dug through Box Hill, and is one of the most significant structures on the Great Western Main Line...
allowing the line to reach , this was replaced by the closer Wootton Bassett railway station. In 1903, after the new South Wales branch opened, the station was demolished and rebuilt as Wootton Bassett Junction at the junction of the two lines. British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways closed that station in 1965. There have been on-going attempts to re-open a station in the early 21st century.
Waterways
The route of the former Wilts & Berks Canal passes through Wootton Bassett parish south of the town. The canal reached Wootton Bassett parish from SemingtonSemington
Semington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of Melksham and about northeast of Trowbridge.The parish includes the hamlets of Littlemarsh and Littleton....
in 1801 and was completed when it reached Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
in 1810. The last narrowboat
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
traffic to Wootton Bassett was in 1906 and the canal was abandoned by Act of Parliament in 1914. The canal is now being restored by the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust.
Sport
In football, the town is represented by Wootton Bassett Town F.C.Wootton Bassett Town F.C.
Wootton Bassett Town Football Club are an English football club based in the town of Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire.The club has three senior, one ladies, 15 youth and mini soccer and one girls teams and is affiliated to the Wiltshire County Football Association. The record match attendance was...
who play their home games at the 2,000 capacity Gerrard Buxton Sports Ground in Rylands Way. As of the 2010-11 season, the club was competing in the Hellenic Football League
Hellenic Football League
The Hellenic Football League is an English football league covering an area including the English counties of Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, southern Buckinghamshire, southern Herefordshire, western Greater London, and northern Wiltshire. There is also one team from Hampshire.The league...
Premier Division.
Other successful sports clubs include Wootton Bassett Hockey Club, Wootton Bassett Otters Swimming Club, Wootton Bassett Rugby Football Club and Wootton Bassett Bowls Club.
Museums
The Wootton Bassett MuseumWootton Bassett Museum
Wootton Bassett Museum is a local museum in the market town of Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, England.The museum is in housed in the half timbered town hall. The building has an upper storey supported on 15 pillars. It was a gift of the Hyde family and was built c1700...
is the former town hall, which is an upper storey supported on 15 pillars. It was built at the end of the 17th century, a gift from the Hyde family (Earls of Clarendon).
War Memorial
The town previously had war memorials in the form of a memorial garden in the cemetery and the memorial hall on Tinker's Field. In October 2004 a new memorial was unveiled in the town, a simple pedestal topped by a bronze of hands holding up a globe. The opening was the culmination of a five year publicity and fund raising campaign, initiated by local girl Jay Cunningham who felt that the garden and hall were not prominent enough. The design of the memorial was by Lance Corporal Alan Wilson of the Wootton Bassett army cadets, chosen by public vote, and then sculpted by local artist Vivian ap Rhys Price.Twinning
The town is twinned with BlainBlain, Loire-Atlantique
Blain is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is twinned with the market town of Royal Wootton Bassett, England.-See also:* Château de Blain* Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department...
, a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
department in western France.