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The original Saxon settlement of Swindon sat in a defensible position atop a limestone hill. It is referred to in the Domesday Book as Suindune, a name believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon word swine and British word dun meaning literally pig hill, or possibly Sweyn's hill where Sweyn would be the local landlord. Swindon remained a small market town, used mainly for barter trade, until the mid- 1800sEvents and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars ( 1803 1815). Semaphore is adopted by navies. United Kingdom founded in 1801 World Leaders Emperor Napoleon I ( France) Emperor Francis II ( Holy Roman Empire) Pope Pius VII Emperor Alexander I ( Russia). This original market area of Swindon is located on top of the hill in central Swindon and is now known as Old Town.
The industrial revolution was responsible for a great acceleration of Swindon's growth. It started with the construction of the Wiltshire and Berkshire canalCanal du Midi in Toulouse, France Canals are man-made waterways, usually connecting existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. They are used for transportation, often by barges or narrowboats on smaller canals, and by ships on ship canals that connect to the ocea in 1810Events January 10 Marriage of Napoleon and Josephine is annulled January 20 Tyrolean rebel leader Andreas Hofer executed March 11 Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria April 19 Venezuela achieves home rule: Emparan, Governor of the Captaincy General is, and then the North Wiltshire canal in 1819Events January 17 Simon Bolivar proclaims the Republic of Colombia January 29 Sir Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore February 6 Formal treaty between Sultan Hussein of Johor and the British Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles originates Singapore F. These two major routes brought more trade to the area, and Swindon's population started to rise.
Probably the most significant event in Swindon's history occurred in 18401840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). Events January 3 One of the predecessor papers to the Herald Sun of Melbourne, Australia, The Port Phillip Herald is founded by George Cavanaugh. January 10 Uniform penny postage, when Swindon was selected to house the large engineering works for the Great Western RailwayBristol Temple Meads railway station, the terminus at Bristol. The Great Western Railway (GWR was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. It was founded in 1833, kept its identity through the 19 by Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel ( April 9, 1806 September 15, 1859) was a British engineer, noted for the creation of the Great Western Railway and a series of famous steamships. The Thames Tunnel The son of noted engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, Isambard K.. Legend has it that Brunel and his assistant were surveying the route of the London to Bristol line, and had stopped on a hillside for lunch. The assistant asked Brunel where he thought the railway works should be built,and Brunel threw a sandwich in the air, declaring that it would be wherever the sandwich landed. Construction of the works was completed in 1842 and the new jobs created brought many people into the town to work. Along with the railway works a small railway village was created to house some of the many railway workers. This area became the present day area known as New Town (or the Town Centre). The original Railway Village houses are still standing and are occupied, and several of the original buildings which comprised the engineering works also remain (though many are vacant). A Steam Railway Museum (link below) now occupies part of the old works.
In the second half of the 19th century the new area (Swindon New Town) created by the railway works and the original area from the market trading years (Swindon Old Town) were merged to become Swindon.
During much of the 20th century the railway works was the largest employer in the town. In the late 1970s however, a large portion of the railway works closed down. The job deficit was quickly filled by jobs in many new and upcoming industries. Swindon is often cited as a "boom town" and new housing continues to be built. Among major employers are Honda and BMW (Swindon Pressings Limited) car factories and the head offices of several insurance and financial services companies, together with retailer WH Smith.
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