The Western Arches are Grade II* ListedChippenham is a market town with a long and diverse history, back to Neolithic times.

The Chippenham area has been inhabited for at least 6,000 years, according to evidence unearthed by local archaeologists.

An excavation beneath the heritage centre unearthed a Stone Age cooking pit, in which was found a flint blade and ash.

Recent discoveries of Roman roof tiles suggest a farm or residence of considerable size once stood in the area of the town.

The town's name, however, is recognisably Saxon and it is likely the area was

settled by the West Saxon people who occupied Wiltshire in the years following the final defeat of the Britons at Dyrham in 577.

There are a number of theories about the origin of the town's name but a general agreement it is a Saxon word. It may stem from a personal name Cyppa or from the word ce-ap meaning market. The last syllable, 'ham' means enclosure by the river.

The first time Chippenham is mentioned in a historical document was 853AD when Bishop Asser recorded how Ethelwulf celebrated the marriage of his daughter Ethelswithsa to Burgred, the King of Mercia.

In 1068 the Domesday Book recorded a population of 650 people, including 28 slaves, 45 smallholders and 23 swineherds.

Stanley Abbey was built at the edge of the town in 1151 and lasted until the dissolution of the monasteries in around 1536.

In the 15th century the Yelde Hall was erected and used by the bailiffs and burgesses of the town as a council chamber. In the 16th century Queen Mary granted Chippenham a Charter of Incorporation, which made it a borough.

This new borough was also endowed with land, the income from which was used to pay the salaries of two burgesses at parliament. Income from these Borough Lands is now used for the people of Chippenham.

Woollen mills became important for the industry in the town from the Middle Ages until the end of the Victorian era. The greatest cloth and wool broker of his day, Sir Samuel Fludyer asked the clothiers of Chippenham if he could buy whatever cloth they manufactured and to supply them with raw materials at a good price if they would elect him to parliament. This arrangement served the town well and it prospered.

By the mid 19th century Chippenham was also home to a cheese market. Joseph Neeld financed the building of a town hall and cheese market, which are now home to the town council.

Chippenham was also an important depot for Isambard Kingdom Brunel when he was creating the Great Western Railway. Brunel left behind not only the railway line he created the Western Arches, now a Grade II* Listed structure.

Chippenham has connections with other notable historic figures, including Robert Peeler, later founder of the Metropolitan Police. William Fox Talbot, father of photography, lived in nearby Lacock in 1840.