Malmesbury is a south Cotswold town and civil parish in south west England in the county of Wiltshire. The town is close to Cirencester, Chippenham and Swindon and surrounded by rivers on three sides.
Malmesbury is a hilltop town, shaped by the geography carved by two rivers. From the west, the infant Bristol Avon flows from Sherston, and from the north west, a tributary either known as the Tetbury Avon or, locally, as The Ingleburn. They flow wi...
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Malmesbury is a south Cotswold town and civil parish in south west England in the county of Wiltshire. The town is close to Cirencester, Chippenham and Swindon and surrounded by rivers on three sides.
Malmesbury is a hilltop town, shaped by the geography carved by two rivers. From the west, the infant Bristol Avon flows from Sherston, and from the north west, a tributary either known as the Tetbury Avon or, locally, as The Ingleburn. They flow within 100 yards (91 m) of each other but are separated by a narrow and high isthmus, just a few yards across, which forces the Bristol Avon south and the Tetbury Avon east. This creates a rocky outcrop as a south-facing, gently sloping hilltop, until the two rivers meet on the southern edge of the town.
With steep, and in places cliff-like sides, the town was described by Sir William Waller, as the best naturally-defended inland location he had seen. The hilltop contains several freshwater springs, which were regarded as holy wells from the 7th...
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