The town of Malmesbury is definitely among the more unique towns in not only the county of Wiltshire but in the entire United Kingdom. For one, the geography of Malmesbury is rather unique and the entire town sits atop a flat hill that looks almost like a mesa. The hill is rather steep and this has helped to make Malmesbury a strategic stronghold of a location for much of its existence. Furthermore, the town is surrounded by rivers on three different sides. The Bristol Avon flanks the west side of Malmesbury, flowing out of the mighty Sherston. On the western side of Malmesbury one can see the Tetbury Avon and these bodies of water come very close to one another at many points throughout the town. To make matters even better, Malmesbury is located within the famous Cotswolds. These world renowned hills gather tourists from all over the world every day because of the immense beauty that is found within. Declared an Outstanding Area of Natural Beauty by the British governement, the Cotswolds are among England's most glorious areas and any town located within these immense hills is fortunate to be blessed with incredible scenery. It is here that we find our dear Malmesbury.
Atop the lovely hill of Malmesbury one can find all manner of fresh water springs. This naturally led Malmesbury to become an important location even for early settlers of the Neolithic era. Not long ago archeologists unearthed a crude wooden fort in Malmesbury that is believed to date back as far as 800 B.C. While this is no doubt impressive no matter how old it is, this is evidence that Malmesbury is in fact the oldest continually inhabited town in all of England! Naturally Malmesbury wasn't what one would call a city in those days but, when it finally was given royal borough status in 880 by King Alfred, this made it in fact the oldest borough in Britain. Not long after that Alfred's son took the throne and he in fact made Malmesbury his capital. With such fantastic strategic defenses, who could blame him?
The natural springs weren't just important to ancient settlers, though. The truth of the matter is that many thought these springs of water were in fact holy and by the 600s Malmesbury already had an abbey that was attracting pilgrims from all over England. This caused Malmesbury to claim yet another "first" in the lexicon of England: The town was the home of the first church organ in the country around the year 700. To this day Malmesbury still attracts countless visitors but, naturally, most of the tourism doesn't have to do with any holy pilgrimage. Instead, people flock to this fantastic city to see both the natural beauty of the area as well as the massive amount of history that has flown through Malmesbury since the dawn of man. It is for these reasons that England would not be the nation it is today without some help from Malmesbury throughout the centuries.
| 
+44 (0)1666 823268
+44 (0)1666 823268
