Chippenham is a market town in Wiltshire, England, located 21 km (13 miles) east of Bath, Somerset and 163 km (96 miles) west of London. In the United Kingdom Census 2001 the population of the town was recorded as 28,065.
The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, Bristol and is believed to have existed as some form of settlement since before Roman Britain times. It was a royal vill, and probably a royal hunting lodge, under Alfred the Great. The town continued to grow when the Great Western Railway arrived in 1841, and while historically a market town the economy has changed to that of a commuter town.
Chippenham is twinned with La Fleche in France and Friedberg, Bavaria in Germany. The town motto is"Unity and Loyalty".
