Trowbridge
Categories: Wiltshire geography stubs | Towns in Wiltshire | English county towns
Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England. It is situated on the River Biss in the west of the county. The city of Bath lies about ten miles to the north-west. Well known locally for its tortuous and complicated system of roads, Trowbridge was originally dominated by the wool trade; the last mill closed in 1982. In the churchyard of St James one can see the memorial tombstone of Thomas Helliker. The name of the town comes from a root meaning 'Tree Bridge', referring to the first bridge over the River Biss. The Kennet and Avon canal runs to the north of the town. The main street is Fore Street, which has a variety of shops, and there are also the Shires and Castle Place shopping centres. The Civic Hall is adjacent to the town park, where the tourist information kiosk can be found.
Trowbridge was the birthplace of Sir Isaac Pitman, developer of the Pitman system of shorthand writing. Apart from Pitman one of the few other famous people to come from Trowbridge is snooker player Stephen Lee, ranked 10th in the world snooker championships (2005), his snooker career is based heavily in his teenage years spent in Trowbridge's (slightly infamous) snooker club.
There is much architectural interest in Trowbridge, including many of the old buildings associated with the textile industry, and the Newtown conservation area, a protected zone of mostly Victorian houses.
Although some residents claim the style of life in Trowbridge is relatively chilled-out and easy going, a local district councillor, Mr. Osborn, famously took this too far in 2000 by claiming Trowbridge 'was just like Ibiza'. This comment drew widespread surprise as Mr. Osborn had never visited Ibiza, and caused some residents to suspect he had never visited Trowbridge either.
Neighbouring towns include Bradford on Avon, Westbury, Melksham and Devizes.
See also