Wikipedia
Chippenham is a town in Wiltshire, England.
Chippenham may also refer to:
- Chippenham (UK Parliament constituency), a UK parliamentary constituency covering the North Wiltshire area
- Chippenham, Cambridgeshire, a village and civil parish in England
- Chippenham Parkway or State Route 150, Virginia, United States
- Chippenham Village, Virginia, United States
Chippenham is an historic market town in Wiltshire, England, east of Bath and west of London. In the 2011 census, the Chippenham community area's population was recorded at 45,337, and the built up area of Chippenham had a population of 35,800
The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon and some form of settlement is believed to have existed there since before Roman times. It was a royal vill, and probably a royal hunting lodge, under Alfred the Great. The primary school, King's Lodge School, gets its name from this tradition.
The town continued to grow when the Great Western Railway arrived in 1841. The town is now a commuter town.
Chippenham is twinned with La Flèche in France and Friedberg in Germany.
The town's motto is Unity and Loyalty.
Chippenham is a parliamentary constituency, abolished in 1983 but recreated in 2010, and represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The 2010 constituency includes the towns of Bradford on Avon, Chippenham, Corsham and Melksham.
A borough constituency of Chippenham was enfranchised in 1295. It sent two burgesses to Parliament until 1868 and one thereafter until the borough constituency was abolished in 1885. There was a county division constituency named after the town of Chippenham from 1885 to 1983, when the name of that constituency was changed to North Wiltshire.
Following the 2003–2005 review into parliamentary representation in Wiltshire, the Boundary Commission created a new county constituency, reviving the name of Chippenham as a seat. It is formed from parts of the previously existing Devizes, North Wiltshire, and Westbury constituencies.