It was a momentous day in the history of Swindon yesterday but you would never have known it.

The day marked the centenary of Swindon winning borough status.

But there were no marching bands, church services, or gala dinners to celebrate 100 years of history.

In fact Swindon Borough Council chose to ignore the day altogether and Swindon Mayor Arthur Archer decided to spend the day miles away in Cheltenham.

It was left to a lone group of bellringers to take it upon themselves to honour the occasion.

They gathered at St Mark's Church in Rodbourne and rang in the occasion with a three-hour church bell medley especially designed for the day.

Eric Sutton, the chairman of the area church bell-ringing group, said: "We just thought we would get together and do something for the occasion.

"We didn't realise nothing else was going on, and that most people didn't even know of the centenary. It's been a bit of a damp squib, but at least this shows that we are proud of our town.

"The centenary is important as it marks a milestone for the town."

At the end of the 19th Century there were two separate Swindons, the old and the new one which centred on the railway works.

In 1900 Queen Victoria ended this state of affairs and granted a Charter of Incorporation, forming the town into one with a population of 45,000.

The borough council claims it didn't forget the anniversary it simply didn't feel it was worth organising anything special.

Council spokeswoman Claudia Dench said it was decided that there would be no point in celebrating the event on a weekday in November as no-one would attend, so more money was pumped into other events held during the year.

She said the mayor was in Cheltenham looking at further education in the town.

She said: "Basically it was one of the events addressed by the council in this, the millennium year.

"The council decided to spend the money on other events more people could attend.

"We had extra concerts at the in the Town Gardens, more money put into the town centre street festival, and the concerts at Lydiard Park.

"We've treated the whole year as a centenary celebration, so we thought we would organise events so that people could actually come along, like the ones in the summer.

"Not many people would have attended an event in November on a weekday, so we thought we would celebrate it at more accessible times.

"The centenary is important as it helps you reflect on the past history of the town, and to address what the town will become in another 100 years, especially with things like the 30 Year Vision for Swindon."