Swindon

Swindon
Town
Central Swindon seen from Radnor Street Cemetery in 2019
Swindon Location within Wiltshire
Population	183,638 [1]
OS grid reference	SU152842
• London	71 miles (114 km)
Unitary authority	Swindon
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SWINDON
Postcode district	SN1–SN6, SN25, SN26
Dialling code	01793
Police	Wiltshire
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	North Swindon South Swindon
Website	swindon.gov.uk
List of places UK England Wiltshire 51°34′N 1°47′W / 51.56°N 1.78°W / 51.56; -1.78

Swindon (/ˈswɪndən/ ^ⓘ) is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county.^[1] Located in South West England, Swindon lies on the M4 corridor, 71 miles (114km) to the west of London and 36 miles (57 km) to the east of Bristol. The Cotswolds lie just to the town's north and the North Wessex Downs to its south.

Recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Suindune, the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1843 transformed it from a small market town of 2500 into a thriving railway hub that would become one of the largest railway engineering complexes in the world at its peak.^[2][3] This brought with it pioneering amenities such as the UK's first lending library and a 'cradle-to-grave' healthcare centre that was later used as a blueprint for the NHS.^[4] Swindon's railway heritage can be primarily seen today with the grade 2 listed Railway Village and STEAM Museum.^[5][6] The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet is housed in the renovated former works and the Brunel Shopping Centre is one of several places in Swindon that bears the name of the famous engineer generally acknowledged with bringing the railways to the town.^[7][8]

Despite the subsequent decline and closure of its railway works, Swindon was one of the fastest growing towns in Europe post-war as its economy diversified, attracting large international companies, who made use of its burgeoning population and strategic transport links.^[9][10] Today, Swindon contains the head offices of organisations such as Intel, Nationwide, the UK Space Agency, English Heritage, National Trust, WHSmith and Zurich Insurance Group. The Swindon Collection of Modern British Art consists of roughly 900 pieces, with the town also housing the Bodleian Library's Book Storage Facility, the Historic England Archive, and the Science Museum's National Collections.^[11][12] Until 2021, Honda's UK headquarters were in the town, with the factory producing up to 160,000 vehicles a year.^[13]

Major venues in the town include the Wyvern Theatre and the Mechanics' Institute. Lydiard Park has hosted festivals such as BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, while the Swindon Mela, an all-day celebration of South Indian arts and culture, attracts up to 10,000 visitors a year.^[14][15] The ancient Ridgeway, known as Britain's oldest road, runs a few miles to Swindon's south, with Avebury, the largest megalithic stone circle in the world, and Uffington White Horse, Britain's oldest white horse figure, also nearby.^[16][17] Wiltshire's only professional football club Swindon Town F.C., have played in the Premier League in the 1993/94 season and won a major trophy, securing a famous giant-killing victory over Arsenal in the 1969 League Cup final.^[18] They currently play in League Two at the 15,000-seat County Ground in the town centre.^[19] Other sports in the town include Swindon Wildcats Ice Hockey and five-time British speedway champions the Swindon Robins.^[20]