I'm happy to announce the next two static sessions of History Portal Club, planned for September. History Portal Club is friendly regular meet-up for curious locals who love stories from the past, hidden landmarks, and great company. It’s a great way to explore the local area’s past together – no lectures, no stuffy rooms, just […]
Visit the historic Yelde Hall on select dates in August and September, where you can meet characters from the town’s past in the council chamber and pirates from 1709 in the lock-up!
Curious about Chippenham's past? Our free guided walks are back for 2025 and bookings are now open!🚶 Join a member of the Chippenham Museum team on select Thursdays and Saturdays from May to September for a 40-minute journey through the town’s rich history, from King Alfred and the Saxons to the present day. Perfect for […]
I'm happy to announce the next two static sessions of History Portal Club, planned for September. History Portal Club is friendly regular meet-up for curious locals who love stories from the past, hidden landmarks, and great company. It’s a great way to explore the local area’s past together – no lectures, no stuffy rooms, just […]
A meeting of History Portal Club, with Lucy Whitfield, Historian Together we'll look at commonly-held rumours about incidents in Chippenham's past that pepper local history discussion, and whether there's any truth in them - so we're talking aliens, murders, escaped wild animals, arson plots, palaces, accidents and so on. This interactive club session will explore […]
A town walk meeting of History Portal Club, with Lucy Whitfield, Historian. The guy that built the house that is now the Brunel Pub, by the arches, was John Provis. He, and his identically named dad, built a lot more of Chippenham than that - the Bear Hotel for example, and loads more. And Lucy's […]
A meeting of History Portal Club, with Lucy Whitfield, Historian. We'll take a deep dive into the life of the Sanitary Laundry, which was just by Ivy Lane School (the chimney's still there, albeit a bit shorter than it was). This workplace employed generations of townsfolk, but piecing its history together is a job and […]
Make 2025 your year of discovery and join our new Treasures from the Archives group. This is an opportunity for you to explore some of the amazing documents in the Wiltshire and Swindon Archive collections in a friendly and informal setting. The group meets every other month on a Saturday, led by Community History Advisor […]
A History Portal Club meeting. Together we'll look at whether the town took up the fight for everyone’s equal voting rights. Were post boxes bombed? Did anyone evade the census? Was there any opposition? What did townspeople think? This interactive club session will explore the politics of suffrage & suffragettes and equal rights, and how […]
A History Portal Club walk'n'talk - pick from a weekend (Sat 15) or weekday (Wed 19) session. As a group we'll explore the many missing pubs that used to punctuate Chippenham’s streets. This walk and talk will take a look at long gone hostelries and inns, from the earliest records to those that disappeared just […]
A History Portal Club walk'n'talk - pick from a weekend (Sat 15) or weekday (Wed 19) session. As a group we'll explore the many missing pubs that used to punctuate Chippenham’s streets. This walk and talk will take a look at long gone hostelries and inns, from the earliest records to those that disappeared just […]
A History Portal Club meeting. Together, we’ll look at the old school on Cocklebury Road. Earmarked for demolition, it’s one of the places known as the Grammar School. Where were the others? Who worked there? What did pupils learn? This interactive club session will explore the life and times of secondary schooling in Chippenham through […]
