c2600
Stonehenge stone circle started
c800
Iron Age fort at Malmesbury
43
England invaded by Romans
476
Fall of Rome
596
St Augustine brings Christianity to Anglo-Saxons
c650
Maildulph establishes his hermitage
675
Foundation of the Abbey
709
Death of Aldhelm 639 – 709, Abbot of Malmesbury, Bishop of Sherborne
c880
Alfred builds burhs, including Malmesbury
924
Athelstan became King of the Anglo Saxons
939
Athelstan King of All England died in Gloucester and buried in Malmesbury
c. 1010
Eilmer’s flight from a tower of Malmesbury Abbey
1066
Norman conquest
1095
William of Malmesbury born
1139
Malmesbury attacked by future Henry II during the war of Anarchy between Stephen and Matilda
c. 1180
Norman Abbey at Malmesbury completed
1215
Magna Carta signed at Runnymede
1258
Salisbury Cathedral finished
1284
Running water in Malmesbury Abbey lavatorium
1295
Model parliament; Malmesbury has 2 members
1348
Black death reaches England
1415
Battle of Agincourt
1539
Dissolution of Malmesbury Abbey. William Stumpe buys Malmesbury Abbey from Henry VIII
1588
Thomas Hobbes born
1588
Spanish Armada
1603
Death of Elizabeth I
1605
Gunpowder plot
1643
Malmesbury changes hands 6 times in Civil War
1651
Thomas Hobbes publishes Leviathan
1666
Great Fire of London
1696
William III gives charter to Malmesbury following first charter of incorporation granted by Charles I
1746
Battle of Culloden. Last battle on British soil
1800
James Harris made first Earl of Malmesbury
1801
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formed
1805
Battle of Trafalgar
1807
Slave trade abolished
1815
Battle of Waterloo
1832
Great Reform Act reduces Malmesbury’s MPs from two to one
1837
Queen Victoria ascends the throne
1851
Great Exhibition
1877
Malmesbury Railway line opened
1884
Third Reform Act resulting in Malmesbury losing its MP in 1886
1919
Women get the vote
1953
Queen Elizabeth II crowned
1962
Last train to Malmesbury (freight only)
1972
Malmesbury loses independent Borough Status
1993
Dyson comes to Malmesbury
2001
Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh visit Malmesbury
2012
Malmesbury Roman Coin Hoard found in a field in Milbourne, Malmesbury
8th September 2022
Death of Queen Elizabeth II
Charles III proclaimed King
2024
1100th anniversary of Athelstan becoming King of Anglo Saxons
Putting Malmesbury’s history into context, events shown with a blue icon are of national significance, those with a red icon relate specifically to Malmesbury and the rest have international relevance.