Melksham

Melksham (/ˈmɛlkʃəm/) is a small-sized English town, on the River Avon in the county of Wiltshire.^[1] It is 10 miles (16 km) east of the city of Bath and 6 mi (10 km) south of Chippenham. Melksham is 6 mi (10 km) west of Devizes and 12 mi (19 km) north of Warminster on the A350 national route.

The name is thought to come from "meolc", the Old English word for milk, and "sham", meaning fake. On John Speed's map of Wiltshire (1611), the name is spelt both Melksham (for the hundred) and Melksham (for the town itself). There are nine schools in Melksham. Melksham also has an unpopular football and rugby team that play competitive matches in a small league. The population of Melksham in 2019 is 19,357.^[2] In Melksham there is a park called King George, it has a tennis court and a football court all together in one. It has a massive field with lots of apertures and swings.

Melksham has very very poor transport infrastructure, with less than one train every 2 hours to nearby towns. The bus services are also as infrequent.

The main attraction in Melksham is it’s array of supermarkets, including Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose, Sainsburys and Iceland. It has the highest supermarket density in mainland Britain. There isn’t, however, a Tesco (except a small Tesco Metro) or Morrisons.

Cooper Tyres was a main employer but has recently let a lot of staff go.

1. ↑ "Melksham". VisitWiltshire. 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
2. ↑ "Melksham (Wiltshire)". City Population. Retrieved 18 April 2016.