Chippenham was started on a crossing of River Avon and dates back to Roman times. Under Alfred the great it was used as a royal villa and hunting lodge. Alfred the Great's sister, Elthekswitha was married to the King of Mercia in Chippenham in AD 853. It is believed that the wedding was at what is now the site of St. Andrew's church when Alfred was four years old. Bishop Asser's Life of King Alfred puts Chippenham under the reign of Alfred. His daughter was married in the town as well. In 878 Chippenham was taken over by Danish Vikings but Alfred managed to get away unharmed. Later in the year Alfred then defeated the Danish in the Battle of Ethandun and they surrendered at Chippenham.
Royal properties were divided up during Norman times into three manors, Cheldon, Lowden, and Rowden. In 1245 the town grew towards Langstret to what is now known as the Causeway. By 1295 the town was being represented in Parliament. During 1406 Chippenham grew to absorb Le Newstret, which if the New Road area of town now and they were granted their Charter of Incorporation by Queen Mary in 1554. The road that runs through the town, leading from London to Bristol, includes part of a medieval road network from the 14th Century. It was a vital road to the cloth trade in England and the cloth merchants in Bristol financed its maintenance because they needed it to get their cloth to London.
During this entire time Chippenham was able to stay a thriving market town. When the wood from the Yelde Hall was analyzed it showed that the market hall was constructed after 1458 with the Buttercross and Shambles being built after 1570. In 1856 Yelde Hall survived a fire but the Shambles were destroyed. During the 16th Century the wood industry became important in the town, mostly due to the river. The town was struck hard by the plague in 1611 as well as 1636. This combined with a drop in the wool industry as well as a in corn production from 1622 to 1623, caused the town great hardship. During the English Civil War Royalist stopped the sale of cloth to the London, in which Parliament control. This caused even more problems for the cloth trade industry.
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