Melksham
| Melksham | |
|---|---|
 Market Place with Town Hall |
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 Melksham
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| Melksham shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 14,677 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST9063 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Melksham |
| Postcode district | SN12 |
| Dialling code | 01225 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Town Council |
Melksham (/ˈmɛlkʃəm/) is a medium-sized English town, on the River Avon in the county of Wiltshire.
It is 10 miles (16 km) east of the city of Bath, 6 mi (10 km) south of Chippenham, 6 mi (10 km) west of Devizes and 12 mi (19 km) north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census recorded Melksham as having 20,000 inhabitants, including sizeable environs such as Bowerhill and Berryfield; as such it is Wiltshire's fifth-largest town by population after Swindon, Salisbury, Chippenham and Trowbridge.
The town of Melksham developed at a ford across the River Avon and the name is presumed to derive from "meolc", the Old English for milk, and "ham", a village. On John Speed's map of Wiltshire (1611), the name is spelt both Melkesam (for the hundred) and Milsham (for the town itself). Melksham was a royal estate at the time of the Norman Conquest
Melksham is also the name of the Royal forest that occupied the surrounding of the area in the Middle Ages.
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Wikipedia